The award is organised under the banner of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, and is hosted by the President of the United Arab Emirates National Olympic Committee Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

It is designed to promote creativity in sports and attracts entries from the United Arab Emirates and around the world.

Organisers cited the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the cancellation and postponement of many other sporting events, behind the rescheduling of the awards to January 2022.

Under a revised timetable, the deadline for receiving applications has been moved to September 15 2021.

Winners will be selected in October 2021 before being announced the next month, with awards being handed out in early 2022.

Among the categories in the awards is an international category, only open to members of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations.

As part of this category, federations are being challenged to create initiatives on tolerance in sports and knowledge management in the sports field.

The decision to postpone the awards was announced following a virtual meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Award.

The meeting also reviewed the challenges being faced by the sporting world as a result of coronavirus, particularly in relation to the restrictions on international travel.