SHARJAH, 30th January, 2026 (WAM) -- Fifteen UAE teams will take part in the eighth edition of the Arab Women Sports Tournament (AWST 2026), set to be held in Sharjah from February 2 to 12, competing across all nine sports featured in the tournament.
The tournament, which is held every two years, this year brings together 63 teams from 16 Arab countries, with competitions taking place at 10 sports venues in three cities within the emirate. The organisational framework provides an integrated competitive environment for both team and individual sports.
The UAE’s participation in this edition holds particular significance given the scale of national representation and the diversity of sports involved, while also offering opportunities to strengthen engagement with fans and community participation in supporting women’s sports.
Sharjah Women’s Sports Club forms the cornerstone of the UAE’s participation, competing in all the eight edition’s sports, including basketball, volleyball — whose competitions at AWST are accredited by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) — alongside fencing, shooting, archery, table tennis, rowing, and taekwondo, which is held under the international G-1 classification of World Taekwondo.
The UAE line-up is further strengthened by clubs competing through specialised pathways, including Khorfakkan Women’s Sports Club in basketball, Al Wasl Sports Club in volleyball, and Fujairah Martial Arts Club in fencing and taekwondo, in addition to Abu Dhabi Athletics Club and Abu Dhabi Archery Club.
Among the participating athletes are several standout names whose competitive records reinforce the ambitions of the UAE teams. These include Amina Al Hosani, who recently won the Best Libero award at the West Asia Women’s Clubs Championship; Alya Al Naqbi of Sharjah Women’s Sports Club’s basketball team, which completed its season unbeaten; Mahra Abdulrahim, who returns to competition after winning silver in the hurdles at the 2024 edition; and Amna Al Awadhi, who will compete in archery while defending her title after claiming gold in the compound bow event at the previous tournament.
This participation builds on a strong UAE performance at the 2024 edition of the tournament, in which national teams finished second on the overall medals table — an indicator of the continued development of women’s sports and the increasing readiness of UAE teams to compete at different levels.
UAE teams enter the eighth edition aiming to translate their preparations into results that reflect the advancement of the country’s women’s sports ecosystem, through participation spanning all the approved sports in a tournament that elevates AWST on the Arab sporting calendar.