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Latest Features
Simon Chadwick | Gulf détente opens door for sports collaboration
Roger Duthie | The West can learn from Dubai’s Covid example
2020 Globe Soccer Awards to be broadcast live by SportBusiness on December 27
Simon Chadwick | Sport could have major role to play in Gulf geopolitics
Blast follows Riot Games in cancelling NEOM partnership
Serie A details specifics of ‘territorial’ Mena rights tender
Eurosport to show inaugural Pure ETCR electric touring car series
Abu Dhabi Media takes UFC Arabia to StarzPlay SVOD subscribers
End of Saudi-Qatar dispute raises hopes for beIN rapprochement
Features
Annual fixtures and eclectic one-offs help Dubai diversify from oil to tourism
High five for Cristiano Ronaldo in Dubai!
Football first | Welcome to soccer central in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi will take centre stage as two of the world’s top football competitions, the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2017-2018 and AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, come to town. Alexis Dijksterhuis of Abu Dhabi-based ticketing and events company FLASH Entertainment is relishing the prospect.
Country Focus | Saudi prince extends sweeping reforms to sport
Sport in Saudi Arabia is on the cusp of enormous change. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – the heir to the kingdom’s throne and one of the two most powerful men in the country along with his father, King Salman bin Abdulaziz – has targeted sport as one of the vehicles of his ambitious plan to transform the country.
Abu Dhabi: Part 4 | A growing reputation in world sport
Abu Dhabi serves as an irresistible draw to an increasing number of sports clubs, federations and organisations every year.
Abu Dhabi: Part 3 | Why Emirate is such a winner for fans
Abu Dhabi’s reputation as a host of stellar events across a wide variety of sports has attracted a broad range of international federations and sports governing bodies in recent years.
Abu Dhabi: Part 2 | World class training facilities
The combination of climate and accessibility means that the Emirate provides a convenient and attractive option for professional sports teams and individual athletes.
Abu Dhabi: Part 1 | Open to the world
HE Aref Al Awani, General Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council explains how the Emirate’s continuing investment in a world class sports infrastructure serves the local population and the international community.
BeIN hits out at scaremongering and insists it’s ‘business as usual’ despite Saudi blockade
BeIN Media Group, the Qatari broadcaster, has hit out angrily at media reports suggesting beIN Sports channels are being blacked out in the Middle East and North Africa as a consequence of the Saudi Arabia-led economic blockade of Qatar. Frank Dunne and Robin Jellis report.
Sponsored content | Leading sport’s future through innovation
Dubai plays host to more than 400 events each year and has a track record of delivering some of the world’s most prestigious sports events. But the innovative emirate is constantly looking to the future and evolving its offering as a host to meet the changing demands of the world sports community.
Sponsored content | Centre of Excellence
Dubai has a solid heritage as a short-break training destination for football clubs, but continued investment in facilities and infrastructure is enhancing its reputation as a training base in other sports.
ARTICLE PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH FALCON AND ASSOCIATES.
UAE: Stadia and Facilities
Big, bold, brash and backed up with lots of cash. That is by no means a hyperbolic description of the UAE construction industry. This is, after all, home to man-made archipelagoes in the shape of palm trees or a map of the world. This is where the world’s tallest building, the 830-metre Burj Khalifa, is located. Architects here are not known for their subtlety.
UAE: Sports Events
Given the stiffling summer heat in the Gulf region, most sports events take place between October and April. However, there have been attempts to stage indoor air-conditioned events, particularly the annual Dubai Sports World, which from June until August offers football, basketball, volleyball and tennis facilities to amateurs.
UAE: Sponsorship and Marketing
Deloitte estimates that the sponsorship spend for sports events in Dubai alone is about $100m per year, with 70 per cent of that figure attributed to the seven biggest events.
UAE: Sports Media
When it comes to sports broadcasting, you might say the UAE has lucked out with its time zone. “Around 2.2 billion people across Asia, Europe and Africa live in the four time zones either side of Dubai, making it ideally situated to capture a global television audience,” Deloitte’s Economic Impact of Sport in Dubai report states.
Still On Top Of The World?
Just over a decade on from the famous tennis publicity stunt atop a skyscraper in Dubai, Dominic Bliss looks at how the UAE sports industry has evolved and where it is heading.
From Russia with Love
Owen Evans asks the Paralympic Movement how it is planning on using lessons learned in Sochi to break down cultural barriers in the Middle East at the inaugural IPC World Championships in Doha.
Laying Down The Law
Owen Evans spoke to leading lawyers to get a behind-the-scenes look at the sports law sector, find out what major issues have come across the desks of major firms in recent months, and identify what areas of the sports industry are changing so fast that the legal sector is struggling to keep abreast.
Breakaway Specialist
Dubai is fast becoming a leading destination for professional cycling events. Kevin Roberts looks at why, and its aspirations for the Dubai Tour event.