United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates is a country in Western Asia. Abu Dhabi is the capital, and Dubai is the largest city.

History of hockey in the UAE
The UAE Ice Hockey Association, which was founded in 1998, is the governing body of ice hockey in the country. The country became IIHF members on May 10, 2001.

The first games of ice hockey were played in the country in the 1970s. The first national league was held in 1979, but the development of hockey slowed down, and there were no championships again until the early 1990's. The Emirates Ice Hockey League was founded in 2009, and currently has five teams participating.

The men's national team made its international debut at the 2007 Asian Winter Games in Changchun, China. They defeated Kuwait 6-2 at the tournament for their first international victory. In 2008, they won the Arab Cup of Ice Hockey, which was held in Abu Dhabi. They have participated at the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia every year since 2009, finishing first in 2009 and 2012, and second in 2010 and 2011. They finished in third place in the Premier Division at the 2011 Asian Winter Games.

The U18 national team played its first game at the 2012 IIHF U18 Challenge Cup of Asia. They took second place after going 3-1 at the tournament.