Most Powerful Women in the Middle East-Family Business Category Ayman Hassan
Jeddah United Sports Company (JUSC) ranked 21 on Forbes as part of the family business category of the ‘200 Most Powerful Women in the Middle East' this year. The report was issued and carried out by specialists over a period of three months and includes Arab women in private and government-owned companies. Many factors have formed the report's choosing criteria including degree of power associated with the position, years of professional experience, individual's media interaction, online presence, number of years in operation, number of countries in which the organization has operations and the number of employees. JUSC is the first Saudi sports company that trains both girls and boys in basketball and football from a holistic approach emphasizing the importance of good sportsmanship within the framework of a moderate and progressive religious framework. Established in 2006, the idea of JUSC was born in 2003 which blossomed into a whole sports academy with divisions starting from kids as young as three years old up to 60 years of age. In 2012, a branch in Riyadh was launched to promote basketball for women. The aim of Jeddah United is to promote sports and a healthy lifestyle to combat the alarming rates of obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, psychological stress fatigue and boredom as well as to invest the youth's energy in constructive outlets. Also, it aims to create a healthy generation while sourcing regional and Olympian talents that could represent Saudi Arabia. JUSC won the 2010 Entrepreneurship award and has also participated in the historic Everest Base Climb for breast cancer awareness campaign in 2012. In 2014, Jeddah United diversified into sports retail with the launch of its JU brand in sportswear and unisex perfume inspired by Jeddah, which means grandmother in English and refers to Eve as the mother of all humanity indicating the struggle to promote women and youth sports in the country. It aspires to be a global brand, using its past, present and hopeful future on the map of sports and retail. The name is derived from Jeddah and the concept of unity of all segments of society, including male, female, child and adult, normal and special needs, privileged and underprivileged. Jeddah United trains all these segments under its CSR programs. JU acts as an independent sports diplomat when playing friendly games overseas and strives to build bridges between nations through sports.
