Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, has said that the emirate pays special attention to its sports sector.

This attention, he explained, is reflected in the growing number of local and international competitions and events that Dubai hosts, as well as the community-focused events catered for different age groups and categories, with the aim of making Dubai the most active city in the world.

Sheikh Hamdan added that the dedicated sports conferences organised in the emirate, including Dubai International Sports Conference, play a pivotal role in promoting growth and development of the local sports sector.

Sheikh Hamdan’s remarks came ahead of the 14th edition of Dubai International Sports Conference, an affiliate of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, which will take place under the theme, ‘Future Football Accelerators’ on Dec.28 at Madinat Jumeirah Conference Centre’s Joharah Ballroom.

The conference will attract prominent football stars, coaches, decision makers and clubs’ managers.

He welcomed the participants, expressing his hopes that the conference’s discussions will result in recommendations that will help conceptualise better future for sports in general and football in particular.

 “Since the first meeting of Dubai Sports Council, we decided to launch an international sports conference that gathers the most successful federations, clubs, prominent sportsmen and coaches to share their professional experiences and success stories, and to present their ideas to promote sports in general and football in particular.

“Such event was also aspired to offer our sports professionals the opportunity to learn about best international practices, and to start closer cooperation with their peers from across the globe,” Sheikh Hamdan said.

“We are proud today to have an international platform to share successful experiences, programmes and initiatives with prominent football leaders, including The Federation Internationale de Football Association, FIFA, to develop the game globally,” he added.

“The conference is also a platform for renowned football stars, and the most successful coaches as well as decision makers, which further reflect the growing role of the conference that annually gathers prominent football personalities from around the world.”

Sheikh Hamdan also said that he hopes that local clubs and federation will benefit from the topics discussed during the conference, and to set successful partnerships and collaborations with attendees.

The Dubai Crown Prince noted the emirate’s drive towards achieving global leadership requires promoting sports sector, and increasing capabilities and competitiveness in individual and collective sports.

Fabio Capello, one of the first of Italy’s super coaches, will also be speaking at the 14th Dubai International Sports Conference, alongside Manchester United legend Edwin van der Sar and Ferran Soriano, chief executive of Manchester City Football Club and its parent company City Football Group. The trio will be together in the opening session titled, “English Football Back to the Top”.

Being hailed as the next in an illustrious list of Italian super coaches, Simone Inzaghi will be in Dubai this Saturday to share his coaching mantra at the conference, alongside France’s World Cup-winning manager Didier Deschamps and Wales national team boss Ryan Giggs.

For the first time, there will be an all-ladies session at the Conference where Englishwoman Lucy Bronze, UEFA Women’s Player of the Year for 2019, and France captain Amandine Henry — two of the biggest stars of women’s football — will discuss the “Empowering Women in Football” alongside history-making French football referee Stephanie Frappart and Italy captain Sara Gama.

Joao Felix, one of the brightest young talents in football, and Serie A stars Romelu Lukaku and Miralem Pjanic, will also be at the Conference, sharing their experiences in a session titled, “Football – Changing Futures”, which will be moderated by former France national team defender Mikael Silvestre.