Dubai is a global destination for sports and athletes all year round

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, and Chairman of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai, confirmed that the calendar of sporting events and events that Dubai hosts and organizes throughout the year has made it a permanent and preferred global destination for sports and athletes from around the world.

His Highness said: The Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament was launched in 2013 and has now become a forum for amateur and professional athletes of various nationalities in various sports, and a major station on the sports agenda in Dubai. This year’s tournament will be the largest ever with the participation of more than 11,000 athletes in 11 various sports, so that Dubai confirms once again in every sporting event and major event it organizes that it is a city that loves sports and welcomes all athletes.

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum added: Through this annual initiative, we are keen to encourage various segments of society to practice sports and participate in sports competitions characterized by their competitive atmosphere. We also wanted it to be a forum for families to introduce their children to noble sports and competitive values, and to motivate adults and children to practice sports in all its forms in the Year of the Family.

The thirteenth edition of the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament, organized by the Dubai Sports Council, will be held during the period from February 18 to March 7, 2026, and its competitions will be held at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex.

Since its launch in 2013, the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament has attracted more than 60,000 amateur, professional and people of determination players, belonging to various nationalities and age groups. The tournament also hosted many international stars, and distributed financial prizes worth more than 60.5 million dirhams to the winners and the audience.

This tournament has become an annual sporting event that brings together various segments of society, and allows sports to be practiced in a competitive atmosphere that enhances positivity and consolidates the concept of sports as a way of life, reflecting Dubai’s position as a global sports destination.

More than 1,500 male and female athletes of various nationalities participated in the first edition of the tournament in 2013, competing in 5 sports. The number of participants in the second edition of the tournament in 2014 increased to 3,000 male and female athletes who competed in 6 sports.

The number of participants and sports continued to increase in the third edition in 2015, as the number of participants reached 4,000 of different ages and nationalities, amateurs and professionals, who competed in 7 sports: futsal, volleyball, padel tennis, running, bicycle racing, bow and arrow, and wheelchair basketball.

In the fourth edition of the tournament, which was held in 2016, more than 4,000 male and female athletes participated, competing in 9 sports: futsal, volleyball, padel tennis, fencing, running races, bicycle races, Nas Night Challenge, wheelchair basketball, and football for people with hearing disabilities.

The number of participants in the fifth edition in 2017 increased to 5,000 participants, including amateur and professional men and women, who competed in 9 sports: futsal, volleyball, padel tennis, fencing, running races, bicycle races, Nas Night Challenge, wheelchair basketball, and football for people with hearing disabilities.

The tournament continued to grow, as the number of participants in the sixth edition in 2018 reached more than 6,000 participants who competed in 11 sports: futsal, volleyball, padel tennis, running races, bicycle races, Nas Night Challenge, wheelchair basketball, jiu-jitsu, fencing, 3×3 triple basketball, and football for people with hearing disabilities.

The seventh edition of the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament in 2019 witnessed the organization of the largest number of tournaments, with 13 sports tournaments organized, and the number of participants reached more than 7,000 participants who competed in 13 sports games: futsal, volleyball, padel tennis, running, cycling, Nas Night Challenge, wheelchair basketball, jiu-jitsu, fencing, three-way basketball (3×3), and football. For the hearing impaired, cricket and ice skating.

Although the tournament was stopped in 2020 due to precautionary measures during the Covid pandemic, and despite the cessation of all activities in all countries of the world, the eighth edition of the tournament was organized in 2021 and the number of participants in it reached more than 2,500 male and female athletes, who competed in padel, cycling and running.

The tournament returned to record large participation in the ninth edition of 2022, where more than 6,000 participants, professionals and amateurs, competed in 8 sports: padel, volleyball, cycling, running, NAS Night Challenge, jiu-jitsu, wheelchair basketball, and bow and arrow.

In the tenth edition, which was held in 2023, more than 5,000 male and female athletes of different ages and nationalities, men and women from 103 different nationalities from inside and outside the country, participated, competing in 8 sports: volleyball, padel, wheelchair basketball, bow and arrow, running, cycling, jiu-jitsu and fencing.

In 2024, the eleventh edition witnessed the participation of 7,149 male and female athletes in 9 sports: volleyball, padel, jiu-jitsu, fencing, wheelchair basketball, running, cycling, tug of war, and steeplechase.

The twelfth edition of the tournament, which was held in 2025, achieved the largest number of participants, approximately 8,000 male and female athletes of various ages and nationalities, who competed in 11 sports: volleyball, padel, jiu-jitsu, fencing, wheelchair basketball, running, cycling, tug-of-war, steeplechase, badminton, and archery with laser run.