By Staff Reporter
ABU DHABI The General Assembly of the Asian Camel Racing Federation (ACRF), which convened today in Abu Dhabi, extended its gratitude and appreciation to President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan; His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai; His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Presidential Court; and H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council; for their significant support for camel racing sports.
The ACRF’s General Assembly also thanked Sheikh Sultan bin Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Advisor to the UAE President and President of the UAE Camel Racing Federation, for his warm hospitality and generous welcome.
This came during an ACRF-GA meeting, where Abdullah Mubarak Al Muhairi has been unanimously re-elected as the ACRF President (Executive Office Chairman) for a second term, running from May 2025 to May 2029. Prince Sultan bin Saud bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman Al Saud has been elected First Vice President, while Sheikh Saeed Al Ghafli was elected Second Vice President.
Four members have been elected to the Executive Office: Ali Mohammed Bakhit Al Aqilat, Ali bin Mohammed Al Fadhel Al Marri, Haider Khan Abbas Lahri, and Batardeni Chandmani (Women’s Representative).
The assembly achieved full quorum with 15 member federations in attendance, representing: the UAE (host), Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Mongolia, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Syria, and Yemen.
The General Assembly approved a redesign of the Federation’s logo, to include two camels — one with a human jockey and another with a robotic jockey. It also approved the inaugural Asian Camel Racing Championship to be held in Abu Dhabi, thanking the UAE Camel Racing Federation for sponsoring the event.
Hamad Al Shamsi was appointed to lead the Executive Committee for the championship and will select the organising team.
The assembly emphasised the technical readiness of all member federations to represent the sport in the 2025 Asian Games in Bahrain, commending the Bahrain Olympic Committee for its efforts to include camel racing in the Third Asian Youth Games.
Appreciation was also extended to the Olympic Council of Asia, the International Camel Racing Federation, and the event organising committee for their dedication.
Member federations were urged to prepare well for the Islamic Solidarity Games (Riyadh 2025) to reflect the growing prominence of camel racing in Asia.
The assembly expressed thanks to the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee for including camel racing in the solidarity games and acknowledged the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation for its role.
Upon reviewing the Asian Camel Racing Federation’s calendar for the 2025–2026 season, the assembly thanked Sheikh Sultan bin Hamdan Al Nahyan for his unwavering support of the federation and the UAE Federation’s initiative to cover the costs of all hosted events.
The Asian Camel Racing Federation’s calendar for the 2025-2026 sports season has been approved as follows:
-The First Asian Camel Racing Championship in Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi; the Asian Open Camel Racing Rounds as part of the Zayed Grand Prix Festival in Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi (November 2025); the Asian Open Camel Racing Rounds as part of the His Highness -Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Festival in Al Labsa (December 2025); and the Federation’s Third General Assembly and Third Asian Championship in Abu Dhabi (May 2026).
