The UAE Ministry of Sports has launched Sportifai, an artificial intelligence-powered digital platform designed to serve as the technological foundation of the country’s sports transformation strategy, in alignment with the National Sports Strategy 2031.
The platform was unveiled during the ‘Driving Digital Transformation in the UAE Sports Sector’ workshop, held in the presence of officials from the Ministry of Sports, presidents of Sports Federations, and technical and administrative staff. It aims to enhance governance, support athlete development, and enable seamless collaboration among National Sports Councils, Federations, and Clubs.
Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Sports, said: “The ‘Sportifai’ platform paves the way for a transformative shift in the UAE’s sports landscape by strengthening smart governance, enhancing performance, and fostering collaboration among National Sports Councils, Federations, and Clubs to boost the competitiveness of national sports.”
Al Falasi added, “Sportifai simplifies access to services for sports Federations in line with the Zero Government Bureaucracy programme, further supporting performance improvement and smart governance.”
Sportifai offers an integrated digital ecosystem powered by AI and advanced technologies, facilitating talent identification, performance analysis, and data governance. The platform also supports elite and emerging athlete development through centralised digital infrastructure.
Ghanim Mubarak Al Hajeri, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Sports, said: “Sportifai is designed as a technological partner for use across all Federations and Sports clubs, through developing an integrated digital infrastructure including advanced systems for athlete data management, modern talent identification solutions, and performance analysis tools.”
Al Hajeri affirmed that the next phase will empower sports professionals with digital analytics and data governance capabilities while supporting innovation and entrepreneurship in sports technology.
Sheikh Suhail bin Butti Al Maktoum, Assistant Undersecretary for Sports Development and Competitiveness, said: “The launch of Sportifai marks the beginning of a comprehensive development journey for our national sports community built on the latest technologies using the most advanced available digital tools for performance analysis, readiness assessment, and support for decision-making within sports Federations.”
“It stands as one of the most important mechanisms to empower these Federations by alleviating administrative burdens and providing accurate, analysable data. This allows officials and specialists within the Federations to focus on technical and competitive aspects, contributing to improved athletic performance of teams and players, and enhancing the mechanisms for talent identification and sustainability within the sports sector,” he added.
The workshop featured two sessions: one for Federation presidents introducing Sportifai’s objectives and ecosystem role, and another for technical and administrative staff highlighting priority initiatives, including the Talent Identification Platform. This initiative will use unified digital records to track athlete development from early stages to elite and Olympic levels, creating a robust national database.
Sportifai was first introduced in March 2025 through a cooperation agreement between the Ministry and the UAE National Olympic Committee, witnessed by Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi.
Strategic partners include:
- The UAE National Olympic Committee, for Olympic alignment
- The UAE Committee for Elite Sports, to enhance competitive performance
- The UAE Committee for Talent and National Sports Support, to build talent pipelines
Private sector institutions and tech companies will also contribute digital innovations and data analytics solutions to support the platform’s objectives.
