13 Teams at the 3x3 Arab Women Basketball Tournament in Sharjah

The Higher Organising Committee of the 3x3 Arab Women Basketball Tournament has announced the teams that will participate in the first edition of the competition, which will take place at the Women Sport Department’s headquarters in Sharjah from October 30 – November 1, 2016.

Themed ‘Above the Rim, We Score’, the 3x3 Arab women basketball competition is organised by the Women Sports Department in Sharjah (WSD), in collaboration with the Arab Basketball Federation and the UAE Basketball Association in a strategic partnership with the Sharjah Sports Council.

Registration at the tournament was closed on October 20, 2016. The rules of the tournament allow each club to participate with more than one team.

The clubs that are participating with two teams are the Sharjah Ladies Club from the UAE, the Sporting Club from Egypt, the G.S. Petroliers (GSP) Club from Algeria, the Orthodox and Al Fahees Clubs from Jordan, while the clubs that are participating with one team only are the Olympic Club from Algeria, Halabja Club from Iraq and the Lebanese International University Club from Lebanon. Al-Shaab Cultural and Sports Club will host the official training of all teams, and the tournament is taking place in the gymnasium at the Women Sports Department in Sharjah (WSD).

The first of its kind women tournament in the Middle East has generated a great interest among the 3x3 competitions commission at the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). An official delegation from FIBA will be present at the tournament, including Ignacio Soriano, 3x3 Event Manager at FIBA, Gianluca Mattioli, 3x3 Head of Referees at FIBA, Nicolas Widmer - FIBA 3x3 IT Manager and Robert Sakizlian - 3x3 Technical Supervisor.

Nada Al Naqbi, Director of Women Sports Department in Sharjah, Chairperson of the Women's Committee at the Arab Basketball Federation and Head of the Higher Organizing Committee of the Tournament, said: “We are delighted to reveal details of the teams that are participating in the 3x3 Arab Women Basketball Tournament, which is being held in alignment with the directives of the wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah.”

“There are 13 teams from the best Arab clubs that will bring the competitiveness of the tournament to the highest level because it is the first of its kind in the region to be approved by the FIBA and the Arab Basketball Federation,” she added.

Addressing the theme of the tournament, Noura Al Hamar, Manager of the Tournament, Director of the Sporting Teams at the Women Sports Department, said: “The theme of the tournament, ‘Above the Rim, We Score’, is inspired by the 3x3 basketball game, because all players score in one basket and share one half-court. The supreme goal of the tournament is to elevate the stature of Arab women athletes, not only in sports but also in all aspects of life.”

In 3x3 basketball competitions, each club can participate with more than one team. Each team consists of four female players, only three of which can be on the court at any one time with the fourth player acting as reserve. Each team can have a professional foreign player in its side. The basic rules of the tournament are the same as the original game but are played on one half of the court, using one basket. The winner is the team with the most points after 10 minutes unless one of the sides scores 21 points and automatically wins the match.

Sharjah Women Sports Department was established in 2008 under a resolution issued by Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs. The WSD is the first of its kind in Sharjah, consistently taking steps to promote women's sports on local and regional levels.

The department is dedicated to building a distinguished athletic women's community that can compete successfully in regional and international competitions, through the supervision and creation of women's sports teams, and ensuring the establishment of an infrastructure that helps achieve the desired goals.