Fatima Al Ali built a social media following by posting videos of her performing hockey tricks, but do not mistake her for a circus act. She is not only an excellent player, but also the captain of the United Arab Emirates women’s national hockey team.
When Fatima first started playing hockey in the UAE, she skated with young children half her size. When she was running the website for the UAE men’s national ice hockey team, Fatima became interested in the sport, had a knack for it, and was spotted at a practice, when the Washington Capitals alumnus Petr Bondra was in town for a hockey camp, and then got invited to a Caps game by Bondra himself.
Now Fatima is among the best players on the UAE women’s hockey team. In the past year, she has been travelling all over the world, acting as an ambassador for the sport, including a visit to an NHL game as a guest of the Washington Capitals that was part of the “Hockey is for Everyone” campaign.
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