ABU DHABI // The capital will this evening celebrate the culmination of a six-month-long quest to find the best sports journalism from around the world, as Abu Dhabi hosts the first Sport Media Pearl Awards.
Launched in Paris in March, the awards are the first to solely recognise outstanding sports journalism globally. The awards are managed by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) and hosted by Abu Dhabi Media, publisher of The National.
An 11-member jury that includes Chinese basketball legend Yao Ming received more than 700 submissions in nine categories including writing, photography and video. The winners will be announced at a ceremony at Etihad Towers.
The jury, led by veteran Italian journalist and AIPS president Gianni Merlo, and made up of industry veterans, went through the submissions and whittled them down to 85 nominations, which were announced in Abu Dhabi in November.
The National is in the running for an award – Paul Radley’s feature on how tae kwon do has helped street children in Vietnam is among ten finalists in the prestigious “sport for a better world” category.
A podcast on the fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr, produced by Marwan Al Hammadi and hosted by Steve Luckings and Jonathan Turner, was also a contender, but is not one of the three finalists in the audio category.
“There is huge anticipation ahead of the Sport Media Pearl Awards, and we are looking forward to officially announce the winners and rewarding them for their dedication to sport storytelling,” said Mohamed Ebraheem Al Mahmood, Chairman and Managing Director of Abu Dhabi Media.
The nominations represent a distinctly global outlook, incorporating a wide spectrum of journalistic voices. They range from a scathing column on Ghana’s national football team in the aftermath of their infamous appearance fee controversy at the 2014 World Cup, to a legendary football game played months after the Battle for Stalingrad during the Second World War.
Then there is a radio essay from cycling’s Giro d’Italia, a long, forceful blog on Justin Gatlin, and a documentary on the Heysel tragedy in May 1985.
Photographs have been nominated in two categories – capturing athletic prowess and emotion – and have been published in The National this week. These include a Russian synchronised swimmer, a cross-country run in Germany, as well as a Special Olympian winning a judo bout.
“After six months of touring the world looking for the very best in sport media, it finally comes down to the ceremony in Abu Dhabi,” Merlo said.
“What is clear from our journey to Abu Dhabi is that the world of sports journalism is blessed with a huge number of passionate storytellers in all forms of print, visual and digital media. We can’t wait to recognise them for their dedication to delivering the world of sports to the people of the world.”
The nine categories award 12 prizes and the winner of each will be handed the prestigious Pearl trophy and US$10,000 (Dh36,730) in prize money, with the second and third placed finalists receiving $5,000 each.
Another $50,000 will also be awarded to the non-profit organisation that is the subject of the winning entry in the “sport for a better world” category.
The event will be hosted by the former British athlete Jonathan Edwards, an Olympic gold medallist and arguably the greatest triple-jumper in the history of the sport.
Alessandro Del Piero, the Italian football great, will be a special guest during the evening and Ming will also be in attendance.
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
For details and nominees, visit sportmediapearlawards.com/home
