As participating teams finalise details in the days leading up to the eagerly-awaited Gulf Youth Games, seen as a stepping stone for future talent, the Technical Committee has confirmed dates and times for various sports.

The football competitions will be held at the Al Nahyan Stadium and Al Wahda Club in Abu Dhabi and will see four teams, including the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, compete in a round-robin format with points accumulated determining the final standings.

The first round begins on Tuesday 16 April with the UAE taking on Oman at 16:45, followed by the Kuwait-Bahrain match at 20:30. The second round will take place on Friday, 19 April, with the UAE taking on Bahrain at 16:45, followed by Kuwait taking on Oman at 20:30. 

The third and final round will take place on Monday 22 April, with the UAE taking on Kuwait at 16:45 and Oman taking on Bahrain at 20:30. The Gulf Youth Games football tournaments provide a unique opportunity for promising players under the age of 17 to compete and showcase their skills on an international stage.

The schedule for the volleyball competition was also officially approved, with six teams taking part: the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The tournament will begin on 20 April at the Al-Nasr Club Hall in Dubai and will be played in a single round robin format. The team with the most wins will be crowned champions, with tie-breakers based on points difference.

From 20-25 April, three matches will be played each day at fixed times: 11:00, 14:00 p.m. and 15:00. However, there will be a rest day for all participating teams on 23 April. 

There will be three matches on the opening day (20 April): Qatar vs. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait vs. Bahrain and the UAE vs. Oman. This is followed on the 21st by Kuwait versus Oman, Qatar versus Bahrain and the UAE versus Saudi Arabia. On the 22nd, Bahrain face Saudi Arabia and Oman take on Qatar.

After a rest day, the volleyball competition will resume on the 24th of April with Kuwait vs Qatar, Oman vs Saudi Arabia and UAE vs Bahrain. The competition will conclude on 25th April with matches between Bahrain and Oman, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and the UAE and Qatar.

On the handball front, Nasser Al-Hammadi, President of the Handball Technical Committee of the First Gulf Youth Games and Secretary General of the UAE Handball Federation, confirmed that the upcoming handball competition will see the participation of all Gulf teams.

The event will feature a single round robin league system and will be held at the Al-Bataeh Sports and Cultural Club Hall. The draw will take place on 18 April, followed by the tournament's technical meeting the next day, while matches are scheduled to begin on 20 April, with each team playing a total of five games. The tournament will end on 26 April, with delegations departing on 27 April.

Al-Hammadi also mentioned that the teams are actively preparing for the tournament, stressing the youth team's recent participation in the 10th Asian Youth Handball Championship "Qualifiers for the U-18 World Championship" - a preparation for the 2025 World Championship - which will be hosted by Iran from 25 August to 3 September. He also stressed the importance of competing against strong teams from the Gulf.

Meanwhile, Sultan Al Taher, President of the Technical Committee of the Chess Championship, revealed that the chess teams are expected to arrive on 17th April. The technical meeting will be held on the 18th of April and the competitions will start after that. he competition will include rapid, blitz and team chess events for the under-14 and under-18 categories, both male and female, and will be held at the Sharjah Chess Club hall.