On Monday, the Italian soccer team AC Milan said that it has established offices in Dubai to strengthen its relationships with important Middle Eastern partners and take advantage of business prospects in the region.
The Gulf area is becoming more and more significant to world soccer as wealthy countries like the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have acquired elite teams like Manchester City of the United Kingdom and Paris St. Germain of France.
Pro athletes like Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo play in Saudi Arabia, and the men’s World Cup was held in Qatar last year.
Since it has 2.5 million followers in the Middle East, AC Milan declared last year that it would open an office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Emirates Airline, a major sponsor of AC Milan since 2007, is based in the United Arab Emirates. Since 2010, the players’ jerseys have been imprinted with the company’s logo.
Under the direction of American investment company RedBird Capital Partners, who purchased the seven-time European Cup winners in 2022 for 1.2 billion euros ($1.28 billion), the inauguration represents a new phase in the club’s history.
The “Rossoneri” lost a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 against Lecce on Saturday, dropping them to third place in the Italian Serie A standings with 23 points. The league championship was last won by them in 2022.