About Us
The Middle East Board is the youngest International County Board in the GAA, having been formally established in the 2013/14 season. Since the inaugural season, GAA in the region has grown at an exponential rate. The Board facilitates games in all codes – hurling, camogie and men’s/ladies football.
The Board consists of sixteen official clubs spread across six Middle East Countries as follows:
- Naomh Alee Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Arabian Celts, Bahrain
- Clann na hOman, Oman
- Oryx Na hÉireann, Qatar
- Kuwait Harps, Kuwait
- Abu Dhabi Na Fianna, UAE
- Sharjah Gaels, UAE
- Al Ain, UAE
- Jumeirah Gaels, UAE
- Dubai Celts, UAE
- Dubai Éire Óg, UAE
- RAK Ropairí, UAE
- Ruwais Gaels, UAE
- Al Reem Shamrocks, UAE
- Kerry Middle East, UAE
The Middle East GAA Board is very active in providing official coaching and referee courses to ensure a sustainable future. Juvenile numbers across all clubs continue to rise year on year, and recently the Board has supported handball initiatives in several clubs.
In 2015, the Middle East Board was responsible for the setting up and hosting of the first-ever GAA World Games which took place in Abu Dhabi. Teams from all international units worldwide competed for silverware. Three World Games tournaments have now been held, and the Middle East representative teams have been crowned champions in men’s senior football on all three occasions, ladies football on one occasion, and hurling on two occasions.
The Middle East GAA Unit is heralded as the fastest-growing unit worldwide and continues to set participation records for tournaments outside of Ireland yearly. With the continued large influx of native Irish into the Middle East, the significant uptake in the games by local and international players, and the work being done at underage levels in clubs and schools, the future of the GAA across the Middle East looks very bright indeed.
