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HSBC Penguins in Dubai
01/01/70
Hadden's HSBC global coaching journey brings him to the UAE
Former Scotland Head Coach Frank Hadden this week arrived in the UAE as he reached the half way point in his epic HSBC Asian 5 Nations grass roots journey. Hadden and his fellow HSBC Penguins have embarked on a massive 12 country, three month coaching tour of Asia as part of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations tournament. Setting off from Hong Kong at the launch of this year’s HSBC Asian 5 Nations in March, Hadden has so far coached hundreds of children and adults in Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Korea and China before arriving in Dubai yesterday. Today he and his team spent time with children from the Mohamed Noor and Al-Ahmadiya Schools.
The HSBC Asian 5 Nations will return to Dubai this week when home side the Arabian Gulf take on South Korea at 7he Sevens on Friday night. Adding to the developmental aims of the tournament the Arabian Gulf v Korea match will be preceded by a special curtain-raiser featuring the national teams of Jordan and Lebanon in their first ever test matches. As title sponsor of the A5N, HSBC is committed to the development of the game throughout Asia, and is supporting Hadden’s coaching journey with the aim of encouraging as many children to play the game as possible. Hadden, who coached Scotland for four years, said, “Being an HSBC A5N Coach has been a fantastic experience so far. Everywhere we go children are just enjoying learning the game and trying a sport which to nearly all of them is new and unknown. The HSBC coaching programme that we are delivering in partnership with the Asian 5 Nations tournament is acting as a catalyst for spreading the game to new audiences across Asia. We are coaching children as well as teachers and coaches so that when we leave these adults can continue the work and keep the youngsters playing the game.”
Hadden was speaking at Sala-hu-deen Hall, where 50 under 12 children from two schools took part in a coaching clinic. Hadden said, “This morning we coached a group of young local children some of whom had never seen a rugby ball before. We gave them a basic introduction to the game, and it didn’t take long for them to get to grips with the basic skills and really start enjoying it.”
Once he leaves the UAE, Hadden will continue his journey visiting Tokyo, New Delhi, Jakarta and Cambodia before returning to his native Scotland in June.
Bruce Morton, Development Manager from hosts the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union said, “Staging an HSBC Asian 5 Nations game here in the UAE is a great opportunity to help raise awareness of the sport within the community, so it is important that we maximise that impact through coaching sessions like today. The participating schools are already a part of our Union development programme, and whilst rugby continues to grow in popularity regionally – initiatives such as these are key to maintaining that momentum”
Abdulfattah Sharaf, UAE CEO, HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd, said, “This is an extremely important and exciting programme for HSBC. Through the many diverse rugby sponsorships that HSBC has around the world, HSBC aims to bring positive social change to its different communities. Through the programme which Frank and the HSBC Penguins are currently delivering across Asia, HSBC hopes that more children will try the sport for the first time, and enjoy playing and watching it for many years to come”
The winner of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations this year will automatically qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup being staged in New Zealand in September. After securing a historic first win in the HSBC A5N Top 5 competition two weeks ago, the Arabian Gulf now front up against South Korea on Friday night at 7he Sevens. Kickoff is at 1900 and there is no charge for spectator admission.
