Mubarak ALdhaheri interviewed Hadher Almazrouei, a former football player for Alwahda team in the UAE in the 1980s-1990s, to discuss how football has changed from the past to present. In the past, football was one of the main activities and people would watch matches in stadiums without chairs on sand fields. Now, fewer people watch live and prefer to watch on TV. Additionally, players today need to take their professional careers more seriously by avoiding unhealthy habits. The interview provided insight into how sports and lifestyle have transformed over the decades as the UAE modernized and developed new recreational opportunities.

1. Foot ball in the past and present
Mubarak ALdhaheri
Abu Dhabi Men’s College, Higher Colleges of Technology
Mubarak ALdhaheri , General Studies Division, Abu Dhabi Men’s College, Higher Colleges of
Technology.
Contact: H00282012@hct.ac.ae

2. Table of Contents
Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………….3
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………..4
Background to the Project.………………………………….………………….……………….4
Research………………………………………………….…………………………………..….5
Biographical Note………………………………………..………………...……………5
Interview ……..………….………………………………….………………….…………5
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..………..….6
References……………………………………………………………………………………….6
Appendices………………………………………………………………………………………
Appendix A - Research Consent Form…………………..………………...……………7
Appendix A – Peer Agreement Form…………………..………………...……………8
Appendix B - Interview Questionnaire……..………….………….………….…………9

3. Abstract
Before in UAE people didn’t have a lot of activities to do, so football was one of the most
important sports in the 80s and 90s. So I interviewed a specialized person on football that was a
player in a football team and asked him about the differences now and before on this sport and
about their lifestyle at that time and about our new generation.

4. Introduction
UAE is known for a lot of games and sports at the past for example camel racing and falconry
but it was not for everybody it was for the people who lived in the desert and people who lived
beside the sea had their own sports which is sailing and diving but after the UAE had united in
1971 and before by few years people didn’t play these sports much they were interested in
football, even people who didn’t play used to watch football games, so I interviewed a person
who played football in its first days or old days here in Abudhabi, to tell us more about the
differences between the past and now. Nowadays football is the most important game in the
UAE and it has a lot of people who like this game, so I tried getting the most information that I
could and that relates to the course that I’m taking now which is sports and leisure.
Background to the Project
Oral history is the collection of historical information using tape recordings of interviews with
people having personal knowledge of past events.
UAE is considered a new country because it was established in the 1971 and radical changes had
occurred since that time, everything had changes so oral history is so important to take
information about what did change over time, for example how they used to live and what where
their hobbies and what did they do most of the time, and about sport how did they play and what
I knew before they used to play in sand not grass because they didn’t have money to build
stadiums like today, so they didn’t have a lot to do so people used to play football or watch it to
lose time and not get bored

5. So I interviewed an old player that played in alwahda team in his teenager years but wasn’t a
professional player he used to play for fun and because I’m a football fan I chose this person to
give me more details about football at that time.
Research
Biographical Note
I interviewed Mr Hadher Almazrouei, he is our neighbor. He used to play for Emirated club
which is called Alwahda but he didn’t reach the first team he used to play in the 18 years old
team, He works in Adnoc in the marketing section. He likes sports and I see him jog every
morning after he pray before going to work.
Interview
At the beginning I asked him to tell me about himself and asked him about there lifestyle at the
past and how they used to live, he answered me by telling me about how was the relation
between the people at the neighborhood and how they used to be like a big family, then we
started talking about sports and what kind of sports did he play when he was young, I knew that
he liked sports but I didn’t know that he was a player in Alwahda team that was called Emirates
club back then and that information I didn’t know before and after the interview he stated that
before people went to the stadium to watch the match but today there are not a lot of people
going they rather watch it on the TV and he mentioned playing on the sand before having grass
on the stadium and fans didn’t have chairs to sit in they used to stand outside the field and watch
them play that was dangerous because somebody may be injured or sometimes they used to fight
after the match then we mentioned in the interview this generation as he called them the Ioad
generation because now a days children like playing with their computers and smart devices

6. rather than playing sports and about professional sport players they need to be more serious
because a lot of them eat fast food and smoke and that affects them while playing and affect their
stamina and fitness.
Conclusion
In the conclusion I think that my interview was so interesting and useful to me because I have
now an opinion or a view of how sports or football used to be played in the old days in the UAE
and also helped Hadher to communicate with our generation and tell them more about their time
he was satisfied because he remembered the old good days as he said, and as I conclude if the
UAE wants to improve their sports they should make players more serious and must follow laws
and systems that would help them become true professional athletes not only by name. I think
I’ve completed most of the HCT outcomes of this course by helping me to expand my
knowledge and helping me to communicate and getting information from interviews
Reference
M. (2010). 1.) Why do Oral History? Retrieved June 22, 2016, from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sOmEpj2STM
Step-by-Step Guide to Oral History. (n.d.). Retrieved June 23, 2016, from
http://dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/oralHistory.html
Oral History
http://www.ncdr.ae/oralhistory/english.htm

7. Appendix A - Research Consent Form
Football in the past and present
RESEARCH CONSENT FORM
I understand that:
 that I am not required to participate in this research project and that I may
cease my participation at any time.
 any information which I give will be used solely for the purposes of this
research project.
 all information I give will be treated as confidential.
Name of Participant: Hadher Almazrouei
Signature of Participant: Hadher ahmad
Date: june , 24 - 2016
If you have any concerns about the project that you would like to discuss, please
contact me at:
H00282012@hct.ac.ae
Or, you may contact the course instructor:
Mr. Mark Vevers
Instructor
Abu Dhabi Men’s College
Higher Colleges of Technology
Abu Dhabi
UAE
mvevers@hct.ac.ae

8. PEER AGREEMENT FORM
This is to confirm that:
 I Hadher Almazrouei have listened to the audio recording of Mubarak
Aldhaheri interview which was carried out on June, 24 at 8 pm as part of
his/her LSS 3003 Sports, Leisure and Society course.
 I have also read the report based on the interview and confirm that the report
is a fair representation of the interview.
Signature: Hadher ahmad
Date: June, 24
Email contact: H00282012@hct.ac.ae

9. Appendix B - Interview Questionnaire
1- Tell me about youself ?
2- What changes do you see in our lifestyle between the past and now?
3- What kind of sport did you play when you were young?
4- How did this sport change over time?
5-What do you think are the reasons of that change?
6- Do you think the UAE sport will change, and will it be able to compete with European sports?
7- Do you think sport has a specific age or anyone could play sports?
8- How could we make our new generation like sports and be more active