Dubai, United Arab Emirates, October 18, 2021: A survey conducted by the United Arab Emirates National Olympic Committee has revealed that there are 32,504 athletes registered across 32 sports federations, organisations and associations in the Emirates.
The survey was carried out last month as the UAE NOC looks at the preparations of athletes for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Team sports were ranked at the top in terms of number of athletes with the Football Association having the largest number – 5,846 players – followed by rugby, volleyball, basketball, handball and hockey.
Combat sports were also popular with 7,903 athletes registered in six sports: boxing, taekwondo, jiu-jitsu, karate, fencing and judo. The Boxing Federation had the largest number of athletes with a total of 3,250.
The total number of athletes registered in individual sports was 10,302 across 20 sports federations with the Equestrian Federation and Racing Federation accounting for 2,258 athletes.
The UAE NOC also revealed that a total of 169 athletes had been nominated by 12 sports federations to prepare to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
The survey also laid out a clear timeline of competition and qualifying events for the Paris Olympics, the facilities owned by the sports federations and the financial resources available to them.
