The full map
Every place to play, honestly reviewed.
Six venues and organisations make up hockey in the UAE. Here is what each one does well, and where it stops. We include ourselves and we keep the same honesty standard.
Galaxy Hockey Academy
Sport Society Mall · Mirdif, Dubai
◆ U6 to U18 + adults
★ 500+ players · 38 nations
⛨ EHL team: Galaxy Warriors
That's us, so judge the facts rather than the adjectives. Galaxy is the largest hockey academy in the Middle East and the first fully licensed specialised hockey academy in the UAE, registered in 2022. Training runs year-round on the NHL-size rink at Sport Society, the sports mall just off Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road.
The structure is a full pyramid. Kids train in seven age groups from U6 to U18. Adults have their own program, and the top of the ladder is real: the Galaxy Warriors have played in the Emirates Hockey League since the 2023/24 season and travel to tournaments abroad, from Belgrade to Bishkek. Kids compete through the Galaxy Cup. The academy is an official partner of the UAE Winter Sports Federation.
One month from now the picture gets bigger. Galaxy Arena opens in September 2026 in Oud Metha: the first arena in the UAE with two ice pads, a 1,401 sqm NHL-size main rink plus a 391 sqm training rink. Until then, we share the Sport Society rink with public skating, the honest trade-off of renting mall ice.
Great for
- The full path: a 5-year-old can start here and still be playing here at 25, in a league team.
- Zero-risk start: first training free, full gear provided.
- Environment at every level: 500+ players means your child always has a group that matches their pace.
Keep in mind
- Until Galaxy Arena opens, training shares one rented rink with public skating and mall events.
- Mirdif is a drive if you live in Dubai Marina; families do commute for the program.
Dubai Ice Rink Hockey Academy
Dubai Mall · Downtown Dubai
◆ Ages 6 to 18
★ Hockey skating, no pucks
⛨ 4-week blocks · 45 min
The Olympic-size rink inside Dubai Mall is the most famous ice in the city, and Emaar runs a hockey academy on it with coaches Igor Voroshilov and UAE national team player Airat Badegyev. Classes take kids aged 6 to 18 in 4-week blocks, 45 minutes each, on a fenced-off third of the public rink. For safety reasons hard pucks are not used, so the program teaches hockey skating: edges, stops, crossovers, the foundation of the game.
Read that carefully, because it defines what this is. Your child learns to move like a hockey player here, and for a Downtown family that is a convenient first step. What they will not get is the game itself: no pucks, no teams, no matches, no league path, and the program ends at 18. Little ones can start even earlier at the rink's Tots Skating Academy, from age 3.
Great for
- Downtown families who want skating first, five minutes from home.
- A famous, well-kept Olympic rink; public sessions the whole family can join.
- Tots from age 3 via the skating academy.
Keep in mind
- No pucks and no games: this is skating school, and a child who wants real hockey outgrows it fast.
- 45 minutes on a third of a shared rink is a light training dose.
- No club or team to graduate into.
SandStorms Youth Ice Hockey Club
Games at Dubai Mall and Sport Society rinks
◆ Ages 4 to 18
★ 150+ players a year
⛨ House league + 2 tournaments
SandStorms is the oldest youth hockey club in Dubai and a genuine piece of the city's hockey history. Around 150 players a year, ages 4 to 18, sorted into five or six divisions by age and level. Weekly games rotate through Dubai Mall and the Sport Society rink. The club runs its own house league, hosts two annual tournaments with teams from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Al Ain and Abu Dhabi, and travels across the GCC.
What you get here is game culture: real matches with a puck, jerseys, standings, road trips. What you accept is the club model: a volunteer-run structure with training and games twice a week. That is a smaller ice diet than a full-cycle academy, and at 18 the ladder ends, there is no adult team above it. Plenty of Dubai kids have grown up happy in this club, and the community around it is real.
Great for
- Regular games and tournaments from a young age.
- A long-standing community with families who stay for years.
- Accepts players from age 4.
Keep in mind
- Two sessions a week; serious development usually needs more ice than that.
- Volunteer club, not a full-time academy staff.
- No adult continuation after 18.
Dubai Mighty Camels
Dubai Ice Rink · Dubai Mall
◆ Adult hockey
★ Now at Dubai Mall
⛨ 7-team in-house league
The Dubai Mighty Camels are the emirate's veteran adult hockey institution: an internal league of 7 teams with rosters up to 20 players, plus the annual Mighty Camels International Tournament that draws around 25 amateur teams from all over the world. For decades the league played on Dubai's oldest ice, the Olympic rink in Oud Metha that opened in 1979. That rink closed for renovation in November 2024, and the Camels now play at Dubai Ice Rink in Dubai Mall.
For a parent the picture is simple: the Camels do not run a kids' program, this is adult hockey. Come as a player with experience (the league welcomes newcomers who already play) or as a fan on game night.
Great for
- Adults with experience who want weekly league hockey.
- A veteran community that has played league hockey here since the 1990s.
- One of the longest-running amateur tournaments in the region.
Keep in mind
- No academy program for kids as the main product.
- The Camels ask for prior hockey experience; total beginners should learn elsewhere first.
Zayed Sports City Ice Rink
Abu Dhabi
◆ Kids + adults
★ 1,860 sqm of ice
⛨ Seats 1,280
The capital's rink is the largest Olympic ice sheet in the UAE: 1,860 square metres with seating for 1,280. It hosts figure skating, hockey, ringette and coaching from beginner to advanced, and it is the base of the Abu Dhabi Ice Sports Club and the Emirates Skating Club. The Abu Dhabi Falcons call it home, and its summer hockey camps bring in around 100 Emirati schoolkids a season.
Strong setup, one honest problem for this guide's readers: it sits 1 to 1.5 hours from Dubai. If you live in Abu Dhabi, start here. If you live in Dubai, that commute kills a twice-a-week schedule, and everything above is closer.
Great for
- Families living in Abu Dhabi: the full package is on your doorstep.
- Big-rink events with real spectator stands.
Keep in mind
- From Dubai it is a 1 to 1.5 hour drive each way.
The Emirates Hockey League & the 2027 Worlds
UAE-wide
◆ Founded 2009
★ IIHF recognised
⛨ Worlds in Al Ain, April 2027
Hockey in the UAE has a top floor, and it matters when you choose where your child trains. The Emirates Hockey League has run since 2009 under the country's ice sports federation and is recognised by the IIHF. Its clubs include the Dubai Mighty Camels, Abu Dhabi Storms, Al Ain Theebs and Galaxy Warriors. Storms and Theebs supply most of the UAE national team's Emirati core.
And the headline: Al Ain hosts the IIHF World Championship Division II Group A on 19-25 April 2027. The UAE won the vote against Croatia 14 to 11. It is the first hockey World Championship ever played in the region, and it tells you where this sport is heading here. A kid starting in Dubai today will watch a Worlds on home ice next spring.
Bonus: where to buy hockey gear in Dubai
Dragon Mart 2 · International City
Do not buy anything before the first practice; a trial at Galaxy comes with gear included. When your child commits, Dubai has a dedicated hockey shop: 14 Sunshine Hockey Sport at Dragon Mart 2, first floor, unit FD-39. They stock Bauer, True, Warrior, Sherwood and other brands, from junior starter kits to pro sticks. Galaxy also runs its own merch and gear shop.
