Middle East County Board

• Gaelic Games in the Middle East have been a key feature of the lives of Irish and other communities across  Gulf Region for the past 30 years
• Traditionally affiliated as part of the Asia and Gulf Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) Board, the Middle East  GAA has now established itself as an autonomous, directly affiliated board of the GAA and a distinct member of the rapidly growing international caucus of the Gaelic Athletic Association since June 2013.
• As the newest regional body or ‘County Board’, the Middle East Board oversees over 60 competitive teams in the region, accounting for over 1,000 directly affiliated members and in excess of 3,000 associate members, and is part of what is arguably the largest worldwide amateur sports association and voluntary organisation on the planet.
• The Middle East GAA Board co-ordinates and facilitates competitive league, championship and test-match competitions across the Gulf  region in Mens Gaelic Football & Hurling, Ladies Gaelic Football & Camogie and a burgeoning Juvenile programme.
• The Middle East GAA board currently consists of eleven Clubs in the Region, Abu Dhabi Na Fianna, Arabian Celts GAA, Al Ain GAA, Clann na hOman, Dubai Celts, Kuwait Harps, Naomh Alee Riyadh, Oman GAA, Sharjah Ladies GAA, Sharjah Gaels & Qatar GAA Oryx na hÉireann with Ras Al Khaimah due to come on board in 2014.

A message from the Chairman, James Kennedy.

I am delighted to welcome you to the Middle East GAA website. Although Gaelic Games has been alive and kicking in the Region for over 30 years, the Middle East County Board was only set up in June 2013. In September 2013, the first Middle East representative team took part in the International Hurling Competition held in Galway in Ireland. The Middle East Team was placed in the 2^nd Division and we had a 100% record winning all our games to secure our first piece of silverware for the County. A month later Teams from the Middle East were invited to participate at the Asian Gaelic Games in Kuala Lumpur and it proved a very successful trip winning 5 out of the 8 competitions we competed in, including the blue ribbon event, the Derek Brady Cup.

The Middle East League was set up in the 2009/2010 season and has gone from strength to strength in that time with both Senior and Intermediate competitions now in place for both Mens and Ladies Gaelic Football. In 2013 we set up the Mens Senior hurling League and have adopted the Super 11’s format which has created a lot of buzz and excitement among the players and supporters of hurling in the Region. The Juvenile section has blossomed over the last couple of years with hundreds of new members playing our National games across the Region.

A lot of work is being done by the Committees & volunteers across all Clubs to help develop Gaelic Games in the Region and I would like to express a great deal of gratitude on behalf of the Middle East County Board to all Clubs and their Members for all their hard work.