Ice hockey in the United Arab Emirates

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Ice hockey in the United Arab Emirates
CountryUnited Arab Emirates
Governing bodyUAE Ice Hockey Association
National team(s)Men's national team;
Women's national team
ClubsEmirates Ice Hockey League

Ice hockey is a minor sport that is gaining popularity in United Arab Emirates.[1][2] The premier ice hockey league in the UAE is Emirates Ice Hockey League (EHL) which began in 2009.[3] The U.A.E. Ice Hockey Association is one of the few sports associations recognized by the United Arab Emirates government.[4][5][6]

In 2018, new president of the EHL was appointed. His role was to strengthen UAE ice hockey team and attract more business opportunities.[7]

In 2019, Burdun announced the goal of entering a team in Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) which involved teams from Belarus, China, Finland, Latvia, Kazakhstan, and Russia by 2021. He also aimed at getting more players ready for KHL. A new ice arena is expected to open in Abu Dhabi in 2019 which meets all the requirements of the KHL.[7] The plan was to replicate the recent success of a NHL team situated in deserts, Vegas Golden Knights. NHL and KHL stars such as Pavel Datsyuk, Sergei Mozyakin, Alexander Ovechkin were mentioned to increase competitiveness.[8]

References[]

  1. ^ "Ice hockey in the desert: Will fans warm to the sport in the UAE?". Cnn.com. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  2. ^ "Ice Hockey on the rise in the Middle East | The Brunei Times". Bt.com.bn. 2012-07-07. Archived from the original on 2016-10-18. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  3. ^ "It's heating up in the UAE's ice rinks this 2015/16 season". The National. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  4. ^ "Slowly, Persian Gulf Nations Come Around to Ice Hockey". The New York Times. 1 July 2012.
  5. ^ "Hockey finds an unlikely home in Arabian Gulf | NHL.com - Across the Pond". NHL.com. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  6. ^ "Popularity of ice hockey in UAE drives demand for two new rinks | The National". Thenational.ae. 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
  7. ^ a b Sam Bridge (2018-11-23). "How one Russian expat aims to make the UAE an ice hockey force". Arabian Business. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  8. ^ Aivis Kalnins (2019-02-20). "Russian businessman talks KHL expansion to Dubai". HockeyBuzz. Retrieved 2019-02-26.


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