Dubai Pro Bodybuilding Championship, qualifying to Mr. Olympia 2023, will take place on 23rd & 24th Sept. at the Halls of Dubai World Trade Center, and will be held with participation of more than 700 amateur & professional athletes who compete to win valuable prizes worth $ 90 thousand.
 
The Championship will be organized by the Oxygen Club, with the support of Dubai Sports Council (DSC).
 
The Championship's details were unveiled during a press conference, convened at DSC's premises, and addressed by H.E. Saeed Hareb, the Secretary General of DSC / Mr. Adel Al-Ali, Head of the Organizing Committee / Brandon Curry, the Mr. Olympia's Champion in 2019 / Ahmed Ashkanani, holder of silver medal in the World Bodybuilding Championship “Mr. Olympia” in 2016 & 2017, and winner of several international titles; the most eminent of which are the titles of Arnold Classic Championship & New York Pro Championship / the Saudi promising champion, Abdulla Al-Rabiah.
 
The press conference was held in the presence of H.E. Naser Aman Al-Rahma, the Assistant Secretary General of DSC.
  
H.E. Saeed Hareb welcomed the prominent bodybuilding athletes & the President of the International Referees Committee, and stated: “Dubai Pro Bodybuilding Championship occupies eminent status not only in Dubai's annual sports agenda, but in the world bodybuilding field too. The Championship has attained global remarkable success, and it is expected to attain further successes during the upcoming edition. The Championship acquires great importance, since it qualifies Arabian athletes to the Mr. Olympia; the biggest championship for bodybuilding professionals, which is held under the umbrella of the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness. It also enables our sports fans & amateurs to enjoy watching the top stars of the game and to acquire new experiences. The event will have great impact because of the wide popularity of the bodybuilding sport among all social classes of deferent ages & multi-nationalities. Numbers of clubs & gyms in Dubai have reached 400. We welcome all participants and wish them to present distinctive performance and to return to their homeland with pleasant memories”.  
 
Mr. Adel Al-Ali remarked: “We thank DSC toward its great support of this Championship, which is held with participation of huge numbers of professional & amateur bodybuilding champions. The Championship acquires special importance since it qualifies participating Arabs to become professionals. It also qualifies winners to the Mr. Olympia, to be held from 2nd to 5th Nov. 2023 at Orlando City in the Florida State, USA, taking into account that Mr. Olympia's title is the topmost for bodybuilding professionals in the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness. The winner in the Dubai Pro Bodybuilding Championship – amateurs' category will win the title of the Champion of Champions and will gain professional player's card to participate in Mr. Olympia.  It is also the first time in the Middle East for winners in amateurs' category to gain 9 cards qualifying them to become professionals. Winning professionals will gain valuable financial prizes which are considered as the second highest money prizes for bodybuilding professionals in the world after the prizes awarded in Mr. Olympia Championship”.  
 
He added: “A new category is added to the Championship this year; i.e. the Gulf Championship which is held with participation of athletes from six Gulf countries who will compete to win three pro cards qualifying to the Mr. Olympia. Gulf athletes will have the opportunity to compete twice during this Championship; the first of which is in the Gulf category, which is scheduled on the first day, and they can compete again for the second time in the open category, to be held on 24th Sept. with participation of professionals from the various world countries. The 2nd edition of the Championship will witness remarkable increase in the numbers of participants, among them are European athletes who have arrived in Dubai particularly to join this event. The numbers of participants in the last edition were 600 athletes, while the numbers of athletes who have registered so far to compete in the upcoming edition of the event reached 700 professional & amateur athletes. The Championship will be managed by prominent referees, who are accredited by the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness”. 
 
Ahmed Ashkanani referred: “I am pleased to take this opportunity at DSC's premises to talk about Dubai Pro Bodybuilding Championship, which plays vital role to develop the Arabian & Gulf sport, sine it provides unique opportunities to the athletes of these regions to qualify to the World Championship. The upcoming edition of Dubai Pro Championship will attract prominent athletes. The event comprises six categories for professionals & amateurs; these are: physical category – amateur men / classic physical category – amateur men / bodybuilding category for amateurs / physical category – professional men / classic physical category – professional men / bodybuilding category for professionals. The 1st placed athletes in each pro category will qualify to Mr. Olympia, and we wish to see more Gulf athletes”.    
  
Abdulla Rabiah mentioned: “Dubai Pro Bodybuilding Championship is the best Championship that I have ever joined in my life, whether in terms of organization, refereeing level, fans attendance or timing. I have great pleasure to participate in the event alongside huge numbers of world professional athletes. This year we are so enthusiastic, because of the increase of numbers of participants, besides the launch of Gulf Bodybuilding Championship, qualifying to Pro Cards”.
 
Brandon Curry explained: “I thank DSC toward its support for the organization of this distinctive Championship. I am proud to arrive in Dubai and to follow this wonderful event”.
 
Curry lauded the hard efforts of the Organizing Committee and said: “The Championship is organized in spectacular atmospheres & and with remarkable presence of fans. All works in the last edition were held accurately, and we are expecting further success during this version. I advise participants to enjoy all the moments of this competition and to avoid any tension or negative thinking. They have unique opportunity to show their abilities & to exert hard efforts within a short span of time. They will have no time to lose in tensions”.