Dubai: The Dubai Sports Council (DSC) held an extended coordination meeting with sports clubs and relevant institutions to review preparations for the launch of the much-acclaimed ‘Ghars’ (Nurturing) programme for the 2026-2027 sports season.

Operating under the slogan “Rooted Values… For Conscious Sporting Generations’, the ‘Ghars’ (Nurturing) programme was launched by the Dubai Sports Council to cultivate positive behavioral values, integrity and ethical conduct among athletes, coaches and staff within sports clubs.

And because ‘Ghars’ translates to “planting” or “nurturing” in Arabic, the ideal slogan should bridge character building with sporting excellence, thus falling under the umbrella of the ‘Dubai Social Agenda 33’ so as to build a conscious sporting generation empowered with values, knowledge and life skills, so that they are capable of contributing to the development of a healthy, cohesive and sustainable society.

During the meeting, government entities and partner institutions outlined the programmes and initiatives they will implement during the course of the new season to achieve the well laid out objectives of the programme.

Dubai Police will continue its ‘Conscious Athlete’ initiative, something that had a reach and benefit to more than 1,350 players last season. This initiative brings about an awareness on traffic safety, stadium riot risks and cybercrimes among the sporting generation.

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) will proceed with its safety and safe driving awareness programmes, while the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) will provide health awareness stations, medical examinations and educational lectures to further empower the youth in these specific domains.

Further, the Community Development Authority (CDA) and its affiliated Sawn Center for care and rehabilitation play a key collaborative role in the ‘Ghars’ programme through its ‘Child Protection Workshops’ that seek to educate minors on their personal safety rights, social responsibilities while identifying and guarding against social and digital risks.

The Sawn Center, on the other hand, works on a positive community integration of juveniles or youth at risk of delinquency, while empowering the youth on self-protection and preservation.

These initiatives aim to enhance legal and behavioral culture among children while empowering parents and coaches to play an active role in guidance, protection and early intervention. Additionally, the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department (IACAD) is contributing through programmes such as ‘My Values’ and ‘My Worships’, in close coordination with AWQAF Dubai.

The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) will focus on educating athletes about clean sports principles and anti-doping procedures to protect athletes, raise awareness and prevent associated risks that go along.

The coordination meeting also showcased the new ‘Ghars’ electronic platform and its mechanism for organising and managing programmes and initiatives. This innovative platform simplifies procedures for clubs and institutions to book and organise lectures, while providing quick and easy access to materials, information and a collection of photographs related to the initiative.

Furthermore, the meeting reviewed the results of a survey measuring the programme’s impact on its target audience - including players, coaches and parents affiliated with the clubs - during the previous season, conducted in collaboration with Digital Dubai.

The Dubai Sports Council presented statistics from the previous season of the ‘Ghars’ programme, which featured 152 lectures delivered by 68 lecturers in cooperation with 41 government and private institutions. The programme managed to engage a total of 4,958 participants across four categories, including players, as well as administrative and technical staff from six clubs, and parents.

The ‘Ghars’ programme is built on eight main pillars that include Leadership and Personality development, Sports Values and Ethics, Life Skills, National Identity, Health and Fitness, Safety and Prevention, Digital and Media Awareness and Social Responsibility.

Through these pillars, the programme contributes to achieving the objectives of the Dubai Social Agenda 33, which seeks to maintain the happiest and most cohesive families, promote healthy lifestyles, while preserving Emirati values and principles.

The ‘Ghars’ programme is implemented in alignment with the Dubai Sports Sector Strategic Plan 2033 and the targets of the Dubai Social Agenda 33. The Council places a strategic priority on developing an integrated system to nurture sports talent, preparing a sporting generation capable of achieving excellence while upholding national values and positive behaviours that reflect the core of the national identity of the UAE.

As a strategic initiative, ‘Ghars’ aims to enhance the value system within the sports sector by instilling positive behaviours, developing life skills and building comprehensive awareness among players, technicians and administrators.

The ultimate agenda aims to form stable families and prepare the upcoming generations to be confident with strong capabilities, adhering to their identities and ready for what the future will bring.