Following restrictions on sport and physical activity due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Arab Badminton Federation held a number of online sessions on various aspects of badminton. 

The first session, held in mid-May, was entitled "Home Training From a Physical Perspective" and led by Doctor Mohammed Thiyabat from Jordan.

Subsequent sessions dealt with topics such as values and ethics, building motor programmes, athletes’ lifestyle and arbitration. 

Another initiative in the early weeks of the pandemic was on raising the importance of social distancing, with videos created by players.

"There’s huge interest from the Arab community," said BWF Dubai badminton development manager Jaffer Ibrahim.

"The current initiative started after the lockdown began, and we thought of delivering content to Arab countries. 

"This was an opportunity to reach out. 

"Now there are hundreds of people viewing our sessions online. 

"The sessions are over Zoom and shared on Facebook. 

"The last session had around a hundred participants and a reach of over 20,000 people on Facebook."

Ibrahim also predicted the suspension of badminton would result in a boom in online learning.

"The coronavirus situation created this arrangement," he said.

"Previously, many people didn’t believe in online learning. 

"They preferred face-to-face interactions, but now everyone is moving online, and looking for course content. 

"In many cases, clubs ask coaches to do online courses."

The Arab Badminton Federation, currently led by Sawsan Taqawi, was established in 1996 and has 17 member associations.