By Hani Al-Awadh
DUBAI, Dec 28 (KUNA) -- Fawaz Al-Hasawi, owner and chairman of British Nottingham Forest Football Club, expressed his happiness and pride on Sunday for his participation at the ninth edition of the Dubai International Sports Conference.
The conference is a chance for him, as a Kuwaiti citizen, to talk about his experiment in front of senior officials of sports in the world.
In a statement to KUNA, A-Hasawi said that he was participating in the two-day conference, which started on Sunday, upon an invitation by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council as well as the sponsor of the conference.
He said that he took part in a session entitled "Smart Investment" chaired by former Manchester United international managing director Mike Farnan.
Al-Hasawi noted that Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli, chief executive of the Pro League Committee, which oversees the Arabian Gulf League, Suhail Al Arifi and representative of UAE airlines Mohammad Matar also participated in the same session.
He pointed out that every smart investor seeking a success should start his activity with a good trade idea and work on implementing it.
He added that it was an uneasy matter for him to own an English club; especially he is a Kuwaiti investor engaged in this activity, noting that one of issues taken into consideration was that to what extent the British citizen, who has been supporting that important club for decades, accepts that An Arab citizen owns it.
The journey is still long, he noted, but the club achieved targets by joining the English Premier League.
"We are certain that sports investment will achieve many revenues in the future," he said.
The conference entitled "toward smart football" started with the speech of Dr. Aisha Bu Sumait, deputy head of the organising committee and conference's director, and then a film presented on the idea of the ninth edition of the conference aiming at developing football.
The UEFA president Michel Platini and several elite coaches and stars also are participating in the event. (end) hny.hm