Sheikha Maitha to star in first ever UAE Ladies Polo tournament

Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum will lead Team UAE in the first-ever ladies polo tournament in Dubai, to be held at the Desert Palm from December 10-13.

This landmark sporting event in the Middle East will be held under the patronage of Sheikha Maitha, and organised by Ralph Lauren Corporation in conjunction with Dubai Cares.

The competition's organisers believe it will highlight the growing participation of females playing professional sports in the UAE.

“The Ralph Lauren International Ladies Polo Tournament represents a significant achievement for both the UAE and for women across the region,” said Sheikha Maitha who switches her focus to polo following a successful career in martial arts, where she represented the UAE in taekwondo at the Bejing Olympics and won a silver medal in karate at the 2006 Asian Games.

“Polo has long been associated as being a tough game, however, the first-ever ladies polo tournament allows women to cement their footprints in this sport. It gives me great honour to participate in this pioneering event and to blaze a path for women in the world of polo.”

Sheikha Maitha attended the launch event on Monday night of the Ralph Lauren International Ladies Polo Tournament at its Dubai Mall store.

The event unveiled the official limited edition Ralph Lauren polo mesh shirts that the players will wear for the tournament held at the Desert Palm Resort.

The limited edition polo shirts are also on sale in Ralph Lauren stores in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Three more teams will join Sheikha Maitha’s squad in the competition – Team Asia and two teams from Europe – bringing together some of the highest-handicapped female polo players from across the globe.

Team Asia will be captained by Ploy Bhinsaeng, Thailand’s top female polo player and Lady Polo Asia Ambassador, and will also include USA’s highest-ranked female player Sunny Hale.

Team Europe 1 will be captained by Princess Anna Oettingen-Wallerstein, founder of the Girls Only tournament, and will also feature France’s Christine Thome, while Team Europe 2 will be led by Czech Republic’s star polo player, Katerina Zeka Dombiova.

Polo players from all four competing teams will be outfitted in Ralph Lauren’s specially-designed polo mesh shirts in four bright colours – orange, pink, lime green and white.

Twenty per cent of all proceeds made from sales of these limited edition tournament mesh polo shirts will benefit Dubai Cares, a UAE-based philanthropic organisation that aims to improve children’s access to quality primary education in developing countries.

Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Cares, said: “We are grateful to Her Highness Sheikha Maitha for her philanthropic efforts and selecting Dubai Cares to be part of this unique event.

"Sheikha Maitha has been an ambassador of Dubai Cares ever since its launch and took part in various activities such as travelling to one of our programmes in Sudan. We are also pleased to work with Ralph Lauren on this prestigious event.

“Dubai Cares boasts a wide range of innovative partnerships that aim to alleviate the grip of poverty that spans generations. If not properly addressed, poverty can be an endless cycle. Through quality primary education, we work to break this cycle and fulfil every child’s right to an education.”

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