Players raise awareness on breast cancer by wearing pink wrist bands 

Dubai. UAE – 20 October, 2018:   A few days separate us from the Dubai Fitness Challenge 2018, the initiative launched by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council, which aims to attract 1 million participants this year. In support of the initiative, The Foreign Exchange and Remittance Group (FERG), a consortium of businesses engaged in the foreign exchange and remittance industry organized ‘Soccer Fest 2018’, a first of its kind football tournament featuring teams from 16 exchange houses in the UAE.  

The tournament, which aimed to encourage employees of exchange houses to take on the Dubai Fitness Challenge 2018 and prepare them physically for it, was held on the 19th of October, at the Koora Dome at Al Wasl Sports Club. The UAE Exchange team won the tournament, while Lulu International Exchange and Travelex Emirates Exchange emerged as the first and second runner-up respectively. 

Mohamed Ali Al Ansari, Chairman of FERG said, “At FERG, we realized that many of the employees at exchange houses might live a sedentary lifestyle due to the nature of their jobs. With the Dubai Fitness Challenge just days away, we thought this special football tournament will get people prepped up to take part in the Crown Prince’s initiative. There are thousands of employees at exchange houses in the UAE, and we hope that many of them will participate in the challenge for it to reach its targets.” 

Osama Al Rahma, Vice Chairman of FERG, highlighted another dimension of the tournament’s goals. “October also happens to be the breast cancer awareness month, so all the players in the tournament wore pink wrist bands to spread awareness about the importance of early detection,” he said. 
“We look forward to doing more joint activities with the FERG members in the future,” Osama concluded. 

The teams that participated in the tournament were Al Ahalia Exchange, Al Ansari Exchange, Al Fardan Exchange, Al Neel Exchange, Delma Exchange, GCC Exchange, Hadi Express Exchange, Joyalukkas Exchange, Lulu International Exchange, Mawarid Exchange, Mesrkanloo International Exchange, Sharaf Exchange, Travelex emirates Exchange, UAE Exchange, Wall Street Exchange, and a combined team featuring employees from Al Jaber Exchange, Al Nebal Exchange, Belhasa Exchange and Malik Exchange.   

Foreign Exchange and Remittance Group (FERG) is a non-profit organization formed based on the initiative of the Central Bank of UAE and registered under Dubai Chamber of Commerce. FERG comprises companies engaged in the business of money exchange and remittances, who work collaboratively to address the opportunities and challenges in the industry.