Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, October 12, 2025: The Olympic Council of Asia’s Regional Seminar on Sports Arbitration for National Olympic Committees in West Asia, Central Asia and South Asia was successfully held on October 11-12 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Hosted by the United Arab Emirates National Olympic Committee and the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation, the two-day event at Bab Al Qasr Hotel in Abu Dhabi was aimed at strengthening UAE’s position as a regional hub for sports law and arbitration.
The seminar was held under the purview of OCA Director General Husain Al Musallam with NOC representatives from West Asia, Central Asia and South Asia taking part in the meetings.
The sessions promoted legal awareness in sports, enhanced knowledge of arbitration systems, and also encouraged the exchange of expertise and best practices among sport dispute resolution centres across Asia.
OCA’s Director General Al Musallam emphasised the importance of developing sports justice frameworks, encouraging Asian nations to establish arbitration centres and legislation, and fostering collaboration with ministries of justice to recognise national arbitration bodies.
The seminar reviewed the history of sports arbitration from the 1970s to the present, the Saudi experience, and looked at Gulf case studies, in particular UAE and Qatar experiences in managing sports arbitration cases and the challenges facing sports justice systems in the region.
Al Musallam praised the UAE NOC and the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation for their outstanding organisation.
Apart from the OCA Director General, other participants included Dr. Nabil bin Ashour, UAE NOC member, Fahad Ali Al Shamsi, Secretary General of the Asian and UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federations, and Mohammed Saeed bin Drouiche, UAE NOC Executive Director.
The OCA will hold its next Sports Arbitration Regional Seminar for NOCs in East Asia and Southeast Asia in Bangkok, Thailand on December 20-21, 2025.
