{"id":295546,"date":"2025-11-20T13:52:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T13:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/295546\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T13:52:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T13:52:08","slug":"sheikh-hamdan-leads-tributes-to-emirati-who-encouraged-generation-to-take-up-cycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/295546\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheikh Hamdan leads tributes to Emirati who encouraged generation to take up cycling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tributes have been made to Osama Al Shafar, who was a major force behind cycling\u2019s rise in the UAE<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Mr Al Shafar, who died on Wednesday, helped bring international cycling events to the country, encouraged participation and inspired countless people along the way. <\/p>\n

In a distinguished career, the Emirati served from 2021 to 2025 as vice president of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the Swiss-based governing body for international competitive cycling, and as president of the Asian Cycling Confederation from 2017 to 2025. <\/p>\n

Mr Al Shafar also previously served as president of the UAE Cycling Federation, was a former member of the UAE\u2019s Federal National Council and a businessman. <\/p>\n

In a post on X, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, extended his \u201cdeepest condolences and sincere sympathy\u201d to Mr Al Shafar\u2019s family. <\/p>\n

Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, also extended his sympathies to the family.<\/p>\n

Members of the UAE cycling community<\/a> paid further tribute to a man who they said did not seek the limelight but was a quiet and crucial force in the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew he was very instrumental as one of the leaders of the UAE Cycling Federation,\u201d Andy Fordham, founder of Dubai Cycling Community, told The National on Thursday. \u201cI saw how he nurtured young cyclists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Fordham said Mr Al Shafar also helped raise the profile of UAE and Asian cycling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact a UAE team participates in the UCI World Tour speaks very much to what he has done,\u201d said Mr Fordham.<\/p>\n

Dato\u2019 Amarjit Singh Gill, president of the Asian Cycling Confederation and UCI vice president, told The National that Mr Al Shafar\u2019s \u201cvision and leadership have played a pivotal role in transforming the landscape of cycling in Asia\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder his guidance, we saw a remarkable rise in both the number and quality of races on the Asian calendar, creating greater opportunities for athletes and national federations throughout the continent,\u201d said Mr Singh. <\/p>\n

\u201cBeyond his achievements, Osama was someone who was always willing to listen, to support and to help whenever needed. His sincerity, generosity and commitment to the cycling family set him apart. He will be deeply missed by the Asian and global cycling community and his legacy of progress, unity and service will continue to inspire us for many years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

The growth of the sport in the UAE is a testament to Mr Al Shafar\u2019s efforts. Tours in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in 2019 evolved into the UAE Tour<\/a>, the only global tour in the Middle East that attracts the world\u2019s best riders. <\/p>\n

Tadej Pogacar, a UAE Team Emirates-XRG superstar, won this year\u2019s Tour de France while Safiya Al Sayegh became the first Emirati woman cyclist to qualify for the Olympics. <\/p>\n

But the growth extends to all people from all walks of life across the UAE. Events such as the Spinneys Dubai 92 Cycle Challenge and the Dubai Ride underline this. <\/p>\n

Abu Dhabi was also distinguished as a Bike City<\/a> in 2021 by the UCI as a mark of the emirate\u2019s commitment to its \u201cCycling for All\u201d strategy. The city has a 109km cycling track known as \u201cAbu Dhabi Loop\u201d, while Dubai\u2019s 86km Al Qudra track remains hugely popular. <\/p>\n

Abu Dhabi held the 2022 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships and will also host both the 2028 UCI Road World Championships and the 2029 UCI Track World Championships.<\/p>\n

\u201cCycling was historically a European sport and, when it came here, people questioned it but now you can see how it has grown,\u201d said Mr Fordham. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is now a hugely popular sport, supported by the government who have built world-class facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Mr Al Shafar who helped to oversee this transformation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe always had a smile on his face and he was a cyclist himself,\u201d said Mr Fordham, pointing to the fact there was an Al Shafar cycling team based in the UAE. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a very influential and deeply respected. The UAE has lost a friend to cycling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tributes were also made by the Federal National Council, David Lappartient, president of UCI, and the UAE Tour.<\/p>\n

In a post on X, the UAE Tour said the UAE cycling family was mourning the loss of Mr Al Shafar who was a \u201cpioneer, a leader and a driving force behind the sport\u2019s rise in the region\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cHis legacy will continue to inspire riders and generations to come. May he rest in peace,\u201d the post said.<\/p>\n

New UK refugee system<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

A new \u201ccore protection\u201d for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
\nShortened leave to remain – refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
\nA longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
\nTo encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
\nUnder core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
\nRefugees will have a reduced right to public funds
\nUAE currency: the story behind the money in your pocketsTEAMS<\/p>\n

US Team
Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth
Justin\u00a0Thomas, Daniel\u00a0Berger
Brooks\u00a0Koepka,\u00a0Rickie\u00a0Fowler
Kevin\u00a0Kisner,\u00a0Patrick\u00a0Reed
Matt\u00a0Kuchar, Kevin\u00a0Chappell
Charley\u00a0Hoffman*,\u00a0Phil\u00a0Mickelson*<\/p>\n

International Team
Hideki\u00a0Matsuyama, Jason\u00a0Day\u00a0
Adam\u00a0Scott, Louis\u00a0Oosthuizen
Marc\u00a0Leishman, Charl\u00a0Schwartzel
Branden\u00a0Grace, Si Woo\u00a0Kim
Jhonattan\u00a0Vegas, Adam\u00a0Hadwin
Emiliano\u00a0Grillo*, Anirban\u00a0Lahiri*<\/p>\n

*\u00a0denotes captain’s picks<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Key findings of Jenkins report
\nFounder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, “accepted the political utility of violence”
\nViews of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have \u201cconsistently been understood\u201d as permitting \u201cthe use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society\u201d and \u201cnever been institutionally disowned\u201d by the movement.
\nMuslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
\nLaying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: “The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tributes have been made to Osama Al Shafar, who was a major force behind cycling\u2019s rise in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295547,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,32109,82,2225,1320,15797,46173],"class_list":{"0":"post-295546","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-dubai","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-standard","14":"tag-story","15":"tag-uae","16":"tag-uae-desk-team"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}