Meet Fatima Al Ali and Yahya Al Jneibi — paving the way for Emirati ice hockey officials

A photo-shoot assignment at the Abu Dhabi Ice Rink four years ago got Fatima Al Ali into ice hockey.

Al Ali is employed as a photographer by the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Sports Academy for Women, and she was assigned to cover an ice hockey tournament in 2008.

“The club requested me to take photos for them as well. And when they formed a women’s team, they also requested me try out the sport. I joined a year later and started to love the game,” she said.

“Previously I played football, basketball, and plenty of other sports as a kid. I was pretty good at football, but my parents didn’t like me playing it. But they didn’t object because I wanted to play some sport.”

As a member of the UAE women’s national team, Al Ali wanted to learn the rules to improve her own game and got persuaded into coaching and refereeing for the juniors.

“No one pushed me to become a referee. It’s just that I wanted to learn the rules and apply that when coaching some of the kids,” she said. “I’m still figuring out what role suits me best because ice hockey is what I have decided to pursue after trying my hands at other sports.”

Al Ali, 25, says she is excited at the prospect of being the first Emirati woman to officiate in an International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship event.

She has been to referee at the Under 18 Women’s World Championship Division I Qualification in Austria in January.

“I’m excited and also a bit nervous when I think of officiating in a World Cup qualifier. I guess with more training, I can do a pretty good job when I’m out there,” she says.

SAY HELLO TO YAHYA AL JNEIBI

When he takes up his new role as chief of games official in the Emirates Hockey League next season, Yahya Al Jneibi will be able to draw on his experience in law and order to keep players in check on the ice rink.

Besides being a former player, Al Jneibi also spent six years as a police officer. He is 25 years old and is an imposing figure, who stands 1.88 metres, something that no doubt comes in handy when tempers flare on the ice.

“My job-training certainly has some familiarity in dealing with people,” he said. “I do the same kind of thing as a supervisor in the operations department. So I can bring some of the experience on the ice, in a good way.”

Al Jneibi has given up playing to concentrate on his role as a match official.

“I have been involved in ice hockey for eight years. I was watching one of my friends playing for Abu Dhabi Club [now the Abu Dhabi Storms], and that’s how I got involved,” he said.

“When I joined the police, I began to think of taking up challenges. This is one of them. The change was there but I needed some motivation. The first time I got to officiate was on February 2012.

Al Jneibi is being groomed as Joy Johnston’s successor when the Briton returns home at the end of her 12-month contract.

“I have been refereeing matches but didn’t have the kind of knowledge to give me the confidence. I have acquired that now from Joy and the people around me.”

Al Jneibi has been chosen to officiate at the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Under 18 World Championship Division III in Bulgaria in March, an opportunity he plans to grab with both hands.

“I didn’t expect to officiate in an IIHF World Championship Qualifier. But here I am, and so early in my refereeing career. Now that I have been provided with the opportunity, I want to try and be the best out there.”

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