Badminton World Federation opens regional office in Dubai

DUBAI, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Three days after Dubai hosted the World Superseries Finals for the third straight year, the global governing body of badminton BWF said on Wednesday it accepted the offer from the government-controlled Dubai Sports Council to set up a regional office within its headquarters in Dubai.

Titled "The BWF and Badminton Asia Regional Office", the announcement follows the official admission of the UAE Table Tennis and Badminton Association as the 187th member of the BWF.

Dubai Sports Council first announced the offer to Summer Olympic International Federations - which includes complimentary office space for up to two representatives for two years - during the 2016 Sport Accord Convention in April.

Dawood Al Hajri, President of the UAE Table Tennis and Badminton Association said "The BWF's decision to officially recognize the UAE Table Tennis and Badminton Association as amember of the Federation is hugely significant."

Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of the Dubai Sports Council, added Dubai's geographical location, global connectivity, state-of-the-art infrastructure and tradition of hospitality make it the "ideal setting" to convene the world of sport.

"As such, we are delighted to see BWF and Badminton Asia use the emirate as a gateway to Asia and look forward to working alongside them both to extend the benefits of badminton to the continent and right across the world," said Hareb.

Poul-Erik Hoyer from Denmark, President BWF and former badminton professional himself (he won Olympic gold in the men's singles in 1996 in Atlanta) said "The launch of this satellite office will not only drive greater levels of engagement between Badminton Asia and its stakeholders on the continent but it will also bolster BWF's wider development objectives for badminton in the region."

Dubai signed a four-year partnership with the Badminton World Federation in 2014 which saw the emirate host the Dubai World Superseries Finals and sponsor the BWF World Superseries Rankings under the name 'Destination Dubai Rankings' for the first time in 2014, and will continue until 2017.

Earlier last year, Hoyer said Dubai had the potential to become a future host city for Summer Olympic games.