Saada Al-Ismaili wins 2019 Women and Sport for Asia Award

Muscat: Saada bint Salim Al-Ismaili, Board member of Oman Olympic Committee and Vice-Chairman of Oman Women’s Sport Committee, won the 2019 IOC Women and Sport for Asia Award.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) celebrated six role models and change-makers in advancing the cause for women and girls in sport. In partnership with UN Women, a dedicated awards ceremony was held on the sidelines of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the United Nations headquarters in New York, USA.
The ceremony included distribution of awards to the following people: Winner for Africa is Djatougbe “Nathalie” Noameshie (Togo) who became from national athlete to the first fully qualified female international volleyball referee in her continent; Winner for the Americas is the Women and Sport Commission of Costa Rica which used workshops, group projects, education and sporting activities to encourage the integration of women in sport; Winner for Asia is Saada Al-Ismaili (Oman), a leading activist for women’s sport in the Gulf region and the Arab world.
Al-Ismaili has successfully designed and efficiently implemented plans and programmes aimed at promoting girls and women sports throughout the region and governorates of Oman.
Winner from Europe is Morana Palikovic Gruden (Croatia), an experienced multi-tasking sports official and a leading figure of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) Gender Equality in Sport Commission; Winner for Oceania is Vanuatu Volleyball Federation (Vanuatu), which has paved the way for female participation in sports at grassroots and elite levels Attendees at the awards included the likes of IOC President Thomas Bach, UN Women Executive Director and UN Under-Secretary-General Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, Olympian and renowned Brazilian footballer Marta Vieira da Silva, who delivered a personal speech on the power of sport to change lives, NBC sportscaster Andrea Joyce; IOC Women in Sport Commission Chair Lydia Nsekera and Olympians and gender equality advocates Kikkan Randall, Benita Fitzgerald Mosely and Donna De Varona, to list but a few.
IOC President Thomas Bach congratulated the winners on their achievements and said, “The Women and Sport Awards are very important because these personalities we are honouring have shown what can be achieved by empowering women and girls through sport. The awardees bring about change not only on the field of play, but also in the workplace, at home, in schools and in other areas of society. Supporting such champions for women’s empowerment is essential in our overall commitment to gender equality. In today’s world, no organisation or country can afford to let half of the population be left behind – either in sport or in society. Advancing women in and through sport is truly a team effort. By joining hands and working together, sport can inspire the necessary change and lead the way.”