Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award

The Award, one of the Mohammed bin Rashid Global Initiatives, was launched in 2009 and in 2021 offered Dhs7.5 million (US$2 million) in prize money.[1] The 11th edition of the Award was postponed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

The 2021 award has been used to highlight the role of women in sports.[3] Prominent Middle Eastern female winners of the award have included Moroccan Paralympian Najat El Garaa;[4] Hayat bint Abdulaziz Al Khalifa, Member of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, Member of the Board of Directors of the Bahrain Olympic Committee, and Chairperson of the Bahraini Women’s Sports Committee and Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United States, who won the Arab Sports Personality of the Award in the 9th Edition.[5] Female members of the Award's Board of Trustees have included Moroccan Olympic champion Nawal El Moutawakel, Dr Mona Al Bahar and Mona Bou Samra, the editor-in-chief of Al Bayan newspaper.[6]

The award maintains links with 204 National Olympic Committees, 178 Paralympic Committees, 33 international sports federations for summer Olympic sports and seven international sports federations for winter Olympic sports, as well as with 69 Arab national Olympic federations and committees, and 34 international federations recognized by the International Olympic Committee.[1] The International category of the award is open to Summer Olympic International Federations.[7]

In 2018, a number of Egyptian athletes were awarded, including footballer Mohammed Salah.[8] International sporting bodies receiving the award have included UWW,[9] ICC[10] and FIFA.[11]

Following are the Board of Trustees for the award.[12]

Designation	Name	Country
Chairman	Mr. Mattar Mohammed Al-Tayer	United Arab Emirates
Deputy Chairman	Khalid Ali Bin Zayed Al-Falasi	United Arab Emirates
Members	Dr. Hassan Moustafa	Egypt
	Dr. Mustapha Larfaoui	Algeria
	Dr. Khalifa Rashid Al-Shaali	United Arab Emirates
	Mr. Ahmed Mosaed Al-Osaimi	Saudi Arabia
	Ms. Muna Darwish Busamra	United Arab Emirates
Secretary General	Ms. Moaza Saeed Al-Marri	United Arab Emirates

There are three main categories:

Individual Sports Creativity

This award is given to Individuals such as players, coaches, referees, and administrators who have accomplished creative sports achievements on the local, Arab, continental or international level.

Group Sports Creativity

This award is given to sports groups which have achieved creative sports works on the local, Arab, continental or international level.

Corporate Sports Creativity

This award is given to sports institutes which have achieved creative sports works and best initiatives on the local, Arab, continental or international level.

These awards are given to athletes, officials or organisations of United Arab Emirates only.

These awards are given to the athletes of Arab countries.

Best Arab Player

Year	Winner	Country	Sport
2009	Mr. Oussama Mellouli	Tunisia	Swimming
2010	Mr. Ali Mohammed Al-Asi	Jordan	Gymnastics
2011	Mr. Ibrahim Sabry	Egypt	Archery
2012	Mr. Taoufik Makhloufi	Algeria	Athletics
2013	Mr. Mutaz Essa Barshim	Qatar	Athletics
2014	Mr. Ayanleh Souleiman	Djibouti	Athletics
2015	Mr. Ihab Abdelrahman	Egypt	Athletics
2016	Mr. Ahmad Abughaush	Jordan	Taekwondo
2017	Ms. Nour Atef Ahmed Zaki El Sherbini	Egypt	Squash

Best Arab Coach

Year	Winner	Country	Sport
2009	Mr. Hassan Shehata	Egypt	Football
2010	Mr. Jama Mohamed Aden	Somalia	Athletics
Not awarded from 2011 to 2014
2015	Mr. Kheïreddine Madoui	Algeria	Football
2016	Mr. Ali Al Zahrani	Saudi Arabia	Karate
2017	Mr. Faris Ali Ibrahim Al Assaf	Jordan	Taekwondo

Best Arab Team

Year	Winner	Country	Sport
2009	Oman National Football Team	Oman	Football
2010	None Awarded
2011	Egypt National Youth Handball Team	Egypt	Handball
2012	None Awarded
2013	Al Ahly SC (Football Team)	Egypt	Football
2014	Saudi Arabia Disabled Football Team	Saudi Arabia	Football
2015	None Awarded
2016	Bahrain Royal Endurance Team	Bahrain	Equestrian
2017	Iraq National U-16 Football Team	Iraq	Football

Best Arab Organisation

Year	Winner	Country	Sport
2009	Tunisia National Center for Medicine and Sports Science	Tunisia
2010	Sudan Athletics Association	Sudan	Athletics
2011	Bahrain Olympic Committee	Bahrain
2012	Qatar Olympic Committee	Qatar
2013	Sports Institute Pierre de Coubertin	Tunisia
2014	Fitness Time Corporation	Saudi Arabia
2015	Sports Department of Egyptian Armed Forces	Egypt
2016	Sheikha Althani for Underprivileged Children	Egypt
2017	None Awarded