With over 2,500 amateur athletes expected to take part and some of the leading UAE and international companies having already entered their teams, Abu Dhabi Corporate Games 2012 organisers have announced today that while more are expected to add their names and organisations to the growing list of participants, the deadline for registration for the event has been set for 31 October 2012.

The first corporate-based, multi-sport event, to be held exclusively in the UAE capital will take place over the weekend period from 21 – 24 November with pre-event registration and opening celebrations taking place in the evening of the first day (21st November), followed by the main sporting events being held on the Friday and Saturday, 23-24 November.

Offering a choice of 17 popular sports, including: football, cricket, touch-rugby, shooting, tennis, karting, and basketball, teams are mainly made up from employees of local and international businesses and organisations, as well as UAE schools and university students. There is also a separate “Ladies-Only” event that will run concurrently to the main event – the first such arrangement, as part of a Corporate Games event, to be held in the UAE.

Responding to the high levels of interest and increasing number of organisations that continue to sign-up for the inaugural Abu Dhabi Corporate Games 2012, CEO Fanny Marcourt, said, “For the first event of its kind in the UAE capital, we couldn’t be happier with the response and commitment we have received from companies and organisations, so far. Of course, we continue to receive new applications, by the day, and so expect many more to join this growing list of participating companies, and invite others to sign-up before the registration deadline day.”

Having entered a team, a spokesperson from the Spinney’s supermarket chain said, “We are really looking forward to entering our team into the Abu Dhabi Corporate Games, and have even allocated a ‘selection weekend’, for the entire company, in order to identify the best team to compete.”

The organiser’s current figures suggest that close to 3,000 individuals are expected to take part at the event; additional numbers, also released today, show that the range of employees entered, per organisation, can vary from just two participants to over 150 from the likes of participant sponsor GHC.

According to the organisers, these variances epitomise the “open to all” ethos of the Abu Dhabi Corporate Games 2012. No restrictions are applied on the age, gender, disability, or overall skill level of the participants; equally, the size of the company or organisation looking to take part can, and does, range from small to medium-sized businesses up to multi-national level companies.

Some of the organisations already committed to the event include: GHC, Abu Dhabi Ports Company, Spinney’s, Abu Dhabi Airport Services, Zayed University, and Al Fahim Group.

The Abu Dhabi Corporate Games 2012 is supported by Games Patron, H.H. Sheikh Nahayan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister for Higher Education; Sports Patron, Subhait Khater, Captain of the UAE national football team; the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, and other leading local sponsors. The event will run from 21-24 November 2012 at venues across Abu Dhabi including: Zayed Sports City (main venue), Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, and Al Forsan International Sports Resort, Abu Dhabi.