Dubai Sports Council (DSC) organized a workshop on the best practices for scouting & developing sports talents, where experts, technical staff & administrators from public & private academies in Dubai met to discuss the most important ideas & strategies to attract & develop talents in all sports games.

The workshop was held at DSC’s premises, in the presence of H.E. Naser Aman Al-Rahma, the Assistant Secretary General of DSC / Mr. Ahmed Salim Al-Mahri, Director of Sports Development Dept. in DSC / Academies’ Official Persons / Clubs & Associations’ Representatives / Coaches of Several Local & International Academies in the UAE. 

H.E. Naser Aman Al-Rahma welcomed all speakers & attendees of the local and international clubs & academies, and stated: “The proper governmental policy and the motivating legislations & environment make Dubai & UAE in general as an attractive & ideal destination to attract & develop talents in all fields. Dubai is top on the list of the global cities, which attract & develop talents in all fields. DSC runs its works as per a fruitful policy to attract & develop sports talents and create future champions, who grow as per systematic foundations under supervision of specialized staff & thoughtful strategies”.    

He added: “We are pleased to meet with experts & technical staff to find together solutions & new initiatives which contribute to attain our wise leadership’s vision & DSC’s strategic goals. We will endeavor together to gain utmost benefits from local & international experiences existing in Dubai to ensure talents’ flow, including players & coaches who are competent enough to achieve promising goals & boost the image of Dubai as a favorite destination of global talents”.

The first session of the workshop was addressed by Dr. Zlajko Banisevich, the Founder & CEO of the HERC / Dr. Sajad Karami, the Founder & Manager of Sportify Academy / Mr. Mohammed Al-Sayed, the CEO of the Dutch Funds Foundation & Amsterdam Clinic / Paul De Kort, Director of Analysis and Prevention at the Dutch Funds and Amsterdam Clinic.     

The first session dealt with multidisciplinary approaches to scout & develop sports talents. Speakers discussed several models to scout sports talents in educational schools. Dr. Zlajko exposed 360 models to scout sports talents, while Dr. Sajad talked on the procedures of scouting sports talents in schools. Dr. Paul De Kort dealt with the sustainable investment in sports talents: the Dutch Road Map toward the top of sport from school to sports clubs.  

The second session was addressed by Dr. Anis Chaouachi, the Professor and Lecturer of Sports Science and Former Head of the Lab of the Performance Improvement and Sports Research at the National Center for Medicine and Sports Sciences in Tunisia / Dr. Olivie Mattern, the Expert in Sports Medicine at the High Performance Centers in Qatar Football Association, Aspire Aspetar, Glasgow Rangers & Nottingham Forest and Member of the Women's Medical and Performance Committee of the European Clubs Organization / Jean Claude Lafarge, the lecturer at the French Football Federation and Former Technical Director of the Clairefontaine Center in Paris.

Dr. Anis Chaouachi reviewed ways to develop talents’ abilities in sports clubs, and the role of scientific research to scout & develop sports talents. Dr. Olivie talked on the impact of the stages of growth & adulthood in acquiring sports skills, avoiding injuries & attaining achievements, while Dr. Jean Claude spoke about ways of developing football talents.

The third session was addressed by Dr. Murad Al-Gharairi, Medical Manager at the FIFA Distinguished Medical Center in Dubai / Melina Bailey, the Health Policy’s Advisor / Fatima Anwahi, the Child Protection Specialist at the Community Development Authority. The session discussed ways of activating the eco-system for sports talents development / sports talents healthcare / medical & physical tryouts for football talents / the healthcare model for the development of sports talents performance / protection of talents in sports corporations / the role of the child protection program in supporting sports talents.