The chairperson of the IBSA Goalball Sport Committee, Aurora Zanolin, visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to check the facilities and give the technical validation for the venue of the Goalball Championship in February 2023. The event will be hosted by Ajman city, in coordination with the UAE National Paralympic Committee, the Ajman Club for the Disabled, and in collaboration with Sharjah Emirate.

The Emirate Association of the Visually Impaired (Sharjah) School and the Al-Thiqa Club for the Disabled were also included in the visit.

This was consistent with the IBSA’s support for Goalball development alongside the West Asia Para Federation (WAPF), which included the establishment of a clinic programme for referees.

Mrs. Zanolin also had an official meeting with the Ajman Government, namely His Highness Sheikh Ammar bin Hamid Al-Nuimi, the ruler of the Emirate of Ajman, and the WAPF president, Abdelrazaq Banirasheed. All parties talked about the future of the competition, which will take place in February 2023, and the sport’s growth and development.

“It was a very important visit, not only for technical reasons for the tournament they are preparing, but mostly for the development of Goalball. They are already doing a very good job on it, but they wish to improve and take it a step further in terms of clinics for referees and coaches. They want to grow and make their teams reach the high-performance level and compete with the best in the world”, underlined Aurora Zanolin.