Football
Football is the most popular sport in the UAE. You will find kids enjoying themselves in street corners and and adults alike kicking around in the playgrounds and parks.

Dubai Golf
The golf craze booms on here, though, and the resorts and courses being built in Dubai are created in the style of America 's best golf resorts. more >>

Horseracing
Horseracing is a hugely popular sport in the region, with the best Arab thoroughbreds regularly competing at Dubai's Nad Al Sheba racecourse. The Dubai World Cup (tel: (04) 332 2277; website: www.dubaiworldcup.com ), organised by the Dubai Racing Club , Nadal-Sheba (tel: (04) 332 9888), in March, is now the world's richest horseracing event with US$15 million in prize money. A more traditional event is the annual Emirates Championship Cup , a 130km (80-mile) endurance horserace through the shifting sands of the desert.

Grand sporting projects currently under development include the new Dubai Cricket Stadium and the rather unlikely sounding but very characteristic-of-the-city Dubai Ski Resort. more >>

Tennis
Year round sunshine makes tennis a popular social and competitive activity. The Dubai Open Tennis Championship regularly attracts top stars such as Venus and Serena Williams, Anna Kournikova, Roger Federer and Jennifer Capriati. There are a number of tennis clubs that are open to the public. The Aviation Club , Al-Garhoud Road (tel: (04) 282 4122), has public courts, as does the Dubai Tennis Academy , Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Al-Jumeriah Road (tel: (04) 406 8811). Many of Dubai's hotels also offer tennis facilities. more >>

Fitness centres
All the luxury hotels offer impressive leisure facilities. Some even offer coaching from former ex-Soviet Union Olympians. There are also private leisure clubs geared towards the expat community throughout the city. Dubai Marine Beach Resort & Spa , Jumeirah Beach Road (tel: (04) 346 1111; website: www.dxbmarine.com ), boasts floodlit tennis courts, two outdoor pools, a children's pool, squash courts, gymnasium and a health spa with public access during the evening. Le Mirage Health & Leisure Club , Le Meridien Jumeirah Hotel, Jumeirah Beach (tel: (04) 702 2430) accepts non-members for a fee of Dh55. more >>

Swimming
With pristine beaches and landscaped swimming pools in every hotel, with water chilled in summer, swimming is an all-year-round pastime in Dubai. The four-hectare (12-acre) Wild Wadi Waterpark is part of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel complex, Al-Jumeriah Road (tel: (04) 348 4444; website: - www.jumeirah-beach.com ). This is a paradise for adults and children alike, with a thrilling array of 24 interconnected water rides, including the terrifying 'Jumeirah Sceirah' which hurtles the brave at speeds of up to 80kph (50mph). Reduced rate 'Sundowner' admission is available after 1600. Most hotel pools are open to the public for a day rate.

Water Sports
The shallow waters of the Gulf provide the ideal environment for water sports. As a result the most sophisticated forms of power boat racing as well as snorkelling and scuba diving can be enjoyed here.
Powerboat Racing
The UAE created history in this sport when its crew won the UIM Class Two World Offshore event for the second time in May 1998. Fujairah was the venue for the UIM Class One Championship the same year in October giving it international exposure.. Powerboat races are held throughout the year in the UAE and culminates in December in the Dubai Duty Free Grand Prix held at the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC).
Sailing and Windsufing.
Water - Skiing
Scuba Diving and Snorkelling
The calm waters of the gulf make it the ideal haven for divers and snorkellers. This has seen numerous diving clubs and institutes spring up everywhere in the UAE such as Emirates Diving Association. more >>

Camel Race Track
Traditionally the national sport of the United Arab Emirates, camel racing is still very popular.

Camel racing tracks have been built throughout the country and races are held annually between October to April, being the cooler months. An Annual Camel Race Festival is held at Al Wathba which attracts participants from all over the Gulf. Camel races are held on Fridays or national holidays. The occasion is also a social one where many camel riders meet with friends whom they may not have seen for a long time. more >>

Cricket
The large expatriate population in the UAE have contributed to the popularity of the cricket in the country. Sharjah has become an One Day International venue. The majority of Pakistani and Indian expatriates has made Pakistan vs. India matches wildly popular with sell out crowds recorded.

Motorsports
This section on sports in the UAE wouldn't be complete without a mention of motorsports. The UAE national's love for speed can be seen when youngsters whiz around in fast cars or ride dune buggies at crazy speeds on sand dunes, especially when watching them navigate the giant sand dunes at Liwa. Proof enough is, Mohammed Bin Sulayem, a UAE national who is the nine-time Middle East Rally Champion with numerous international wins to his credit.
The racing and rally events held in the Emirates are the UAE International Rally and the Dubai International Rally. more >>