UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Alain Zahlan de Cayetti and Anna Sedova, De Cayetti Law
8. Women’s Sport 8.1 Development and Growth of Women’s Sport Women’s sport in the UAE has expanded significant - ly over the past decade, supported by government policy promoting female participation and the devel - opment of dedicated competitions and institutions. The sector is overseen in part by bodies such as the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, which promotes elite and grassroots participation. Women’s competitions have grown in sports such as football, cricket, cycling and martial arts, including the UAE Women’s Football League, organised under the United Arab Emirates Football Association. Participation has increased steadily through school and university programmes and initiatives led by emir - ate-level sports councils. Recent trends in women’s sport in the UAE reflect increasing investment, new competitions, growing sponsorship activity and grad - ual improvements in visibility and participation. One notable development is the creation of international competitions such as the UAE Tour Women, launched in 2023 and now the only Women’s WorldTour cycling race in the Middle East, attracting leading professional teams and global sponsors. The race has expanded quickly, with 15 Women’s World Tour teams participat - ing in the 2025 edition and a total prize fund of about USD100,000, illustrating growing commercial invest - ment in elite women’s sport in the country. Other professional competitions include the Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge, which offers USD100,000 in prize money and forms part of the international women’s tennis circuit hosted in the UAE. Major mixed tour - naments such as the Dubai Tennis Championships also provide high-profile women’s events on the WTA Tour calendar and attract global sponsorship through partners such as Dubai Duty Free. At the grassroots and league level, new clubs such as Banaat FC have emerged with commercial partnerships – including sponsorship with Nike – demonstrating the increasing professionalisation and branding of women’s sport. Audience engagement has also grown. Surveys indi - cate around 35% of UAE respondents follow women’s football, and nearly half say they would watch more
et limits for club spending or restrictions on foreign player salaries. Employment contracts may contain provisions such as exclusivity, restriction on transfers during the con - tract terms and non-competition clauses, all of which must be compliant with the rules of the relevant sports international and national federation (such as, for instance, FIFA rules). Financial regulations or transfer rules implemented by sports organisations may raise competition law con - siderations if they unfairly restrict market competition or player mobility. This is an issue typically raised in Europe, for instance. However, this is not the case in the UAE, even though there is no legal impediment to raising such claims under the provisions of Fed - eral Decree-Law No 36 of 2023 Regarding Regulating Competition. 7.2 Employer/Employee Rights The rules governing employer/employee rights in the UAE are governed by the UAE Employment Law and by the UAE Sports Law. Professional athletes are typi - cally engaged under fixed-term employment contracts with clubs, which regulate salary, bonuses, training obligations and disciplinary matters. Sports entities and governing bodies may impose additional regulatory requirements, in particular, regarding contract termination, unpaid wages or transfer restrictions. These disputes are eventually referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, either at an international level or as a result of an appeal procedure. 7.3 Free Movement of Athletes UAE law does not prevent sports governing bodies from imposing foreign player limits, and such quotas are common in professional leagues as part of com - petition regulations. At the same time, foreign athletes must comply with the UAE’s immigration and employ - ment framework, typically requiring club-sponsored work permits or residence visas before participating in professional sporting activities.
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