Many Middle East big names and particular millionaire people have invested in European football and with good reasons. Thanks to this, many huge events are moving to Qatar, and it’s promoting many products from those countries. As you can imagine, there are good motives behind this, especially for the investors who want to connect with global investment.
You might not be aware of this, but some investments need to be safe, and finding something safe is complex. Football investments, according to many entrepreneurs, can reach more public thanks to football. Club owners are well now; thanks to that, you can promote your brand and the country simultaneously. It’s because of this that many major events are changing and will change more.
When did this happen?
The first investment made by the Middle East was in 2008. Thanks to this, the team has risen. Even though the team was part of the second tier in 2002, because of the monetary aid from the Middle East, they won the Premier League in 2012, 2014 and 2018. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan was the one who brought Manchester City and later signed the team to his main group.
Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group is one of the most prominent and most influential sports groups globally. However, even though their investment in sports is primarily in America, the group has been heavily criticized. Amnesty International is one of the leading figures who aren’t supporters of these investments, as they are cover-ups for their business partners.
With this being said, we must mention that some investments exist because the Emiratis want people to forget their reputation. Right now, many social issues are boiling in the country, and they try to wash them down with the football.
Why is this important for the future of football?
Suppose you are a die-hard European football fan. In that case, you probably already know that, after taking over Manchester City, the Middle Eats invested in commercial exchanges with other European football clubs. Even though some of them are unimportant, the clubs start to find success after accepting those investments. One example of this it’s Paris Saint-Germain, rising to starship after being acquired by Qatar Sports. Since 2011, this team has become a European powerhouse thanks to the money injections.
Another excellent example of the powerhouse that Middle Eaters investors can build is Manchester City. As we mentioned before, the team reached its peak thanks to the money injections of their owners. One good example is what happened after they bought Sergio Aguero, becoming the team’s top scorer ever since.
On the other hand, not everything is good news; many teams aren’t as successful as the examples we mentioned before. Some football teams haven’t peak like the PSG or the Manchester City, becoming a marketing tool. Qatar injects money into football and teams such as Real Madrid to make commercial partnerships with them. They can invest directly in FIFA too, which in exchange moves important events, such as the World Cup, to Qatar.
Who are the principal investors?
So far, as we mentioned, the City Football Group, owned by Mansour, has Machester City, New York City FC, and many more sports groups on their ranks. Qatar Sports Investment is the primary owner of the PSG, having the second biggest team, following Manchester City. Finally, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens own most of the Aston Villa. Assem Allam owns Hull City, Prince Abdullan owns Sheffield United, and Farshad Moshiri owns Everton.
Every single investor we mentioned before is a giant businessman in the Middle East. Also, some of those investments are pretty recent, and they haven’t made them more prominent. Still, this financial aid from those investors could make every team grow exponentially.
