Dubai: With so many sports and activities run on the weekends throughout the UAE, clubs and governing bodies have indicated that they expect the new weekend will result in more cohesion, particularly for families.
According to Bruce Morton, development manager of the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union, the new weekend will facilitate the scheduling and staging of games, particularly as the Dubai-based organisation is the body responsible for rugby union throughout the GCC region.
"I think it is definitely going to make things easier for us, as a lot of our games are spread throughout the GCC," Morton told Gulf News. "At the moment, there are some countries which are following the Friday-Saturday weekend, but it would be so much easier if everyone is in line."
With the organisation responsible for both school-aged and adult teams, Morton said the Thursday-Friday weekend used to pose challenges. Now, they are hoping to hold all games on Friday-Saturday, which he said will also benefit their many volunteers who help stage the matches.
"As I see it, training will not be affected, but as far as games and organisational aspects, things will be a lot easier," Morton added.
Many of the UAE's recreational clubs have also hailed the move, which they say may result in more leisure time for families.
"At the moment, our peak days are Fridays, but now I think it will switch to both Fridays and Saturdays. I think that this is a very positive step that will bring about a more unified way of life," said Philip Evans, manager, Dubai Country Club.
Schedule unchanged
The E-Sports Dubai Football Academy, which runs a weekly competition involving over 650 young footballers, has indicated that for the moment their schedule will remain unchanged.
"We run a junior football league one of the largest in the world but have decided not to change the dates for the time being," said the academy's director, Gareth Mordey. "The new weekend will certainly bring about more cohesion, but at the same time there will be some challenges, which we will have to figure out over the coming months."
Likewise, Dubai's Al Naser Sports Club said they will not be initiating any changes to their current schedule of Thursday and Friday games.
"As we work throughout the week and the weekend, the change will not really have a major affect on us, especially as the players' game and training schedule will remain unaffected," an Al Naser Club official said. While the change was not expected to have a major impact on sports such as golf, given that people tend to play throughout the week, Jamie Wood, a golf professional at the Nad Al Sheba Club said the change was definitely "positive."
"From a lifestyle perspective the change will be a positive one," he said. "Bringing the working week more in-line with the responsibilities and demands of family life should make for good quality family time. We would like to see more parents and children playing together on the golf course."
