The UAE will host the second GCC Women's Games next year, which organisers hope will catapult the Gulf region's women to become competitive athletes at home and abroad. The Games were held for the first time last year in Kuwait, the country chairing the GCC Women's Sports Organising Committee, the body that organises the event. Female athletes will be able to compete in seven sport, such as taekwondo, archery, shooting and basketball. The event is expected to occur in March 2010. A finalised programme and the exact location and time will be announced after upcoming meetings of the GCC Women's Sports Organising Committee.
Sheikha Naima al Sabah, President of the GCC Women's Sports Organising Committee, today said "adding sport to the agenda of Gulf countries is instrumental in the social development of women in the region". *The National