Dubai wants to double the number of sporting events it hosts by 2033, according to a new plan released by the emirate's Sports Council this week.
The Dubai Sports Strategic Plan 2033 was unveiled by Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed, chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, detailing his vision to make the emirate “the world’s best sporting city”.
The strategy has four pillars: increasing the support for private and public clubs, talent development, boosting community participation and expanding the events calendar.
Dubai is home to major events, such as last week's DP World Tour Championship and next month's Dubai Rugby Sevens, but the DSC believe there is still room for growth.
As well as doubling the number of events, the plan is to increase the number of annual attendees from 1.67 million to 4.1 million.
“Dubai, with the vision of leadership, there is an abundance when it comes to events,” said Khalfan Juma Belhoul, vice chairman of DSC.
“How can we invest wisely in global events to bring them to Dubai, but at the same time how can we uplift the local events and the ones that we do? By 2033, the goal is to have more than 4 million attendees attending major events.
“The ultimate vision: we want Dubai, with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mansour to be the world’s best sporting city, God willing.”
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Such an increase in events would help drive revenue, with the goal being to raise the sports sector’s contribution to Dubai’s GDP from Dh10.1 billion to Dh18.3 billion ($2.9 billion to $4.6 billion) annually by 2033.
“We have launched a comprehensive and forward-looking vision for the future of sport in Dubai, one that enhances the sector’s competitiveness, creates new opportunities, nurtures young talent, and strengthens Dubai’s global reputation as a centre for sporting excellence,” said Sheikh Mansoor.
The plan also aims to expand club sports, particularly private clubs, helping give them sustainable commercial revenue and a platform to grow.
“Our relationship with clubs continues to take them from strength to strength, but clubs also means the private clubs. What is Dubai Sports Council’s role to ensure that we give clubs the hope to grow and set an example and compete with the rest of the clubs?” added Belhoul.
“Sustainable clubs is not an easy thing to do. So our role is to work very closely with the clubs and that we achieve by 2033 a 50 per cent commercial revenue sustainability through their core business revenue.”
Identifying and nurturing future talent is another key part of the 2033 strategy, which seeks to support 1,400 athletes annually through its programmes.
“We all know that every ecosystem needs talent development, and talent is really something that is key and linked to events, linked to community and also linked to clubs as a whole; the facilities, the right infrastructure and the stipends to ensure that the students go through a programme, connected with the academia and the schools,” added Belhoul.
Community sporting participation is already visible all over Dubai, and the DSC is eager to build on that base – especially among women. The Sheikha Hind initiative will be expanded from two weeks to a year-round programme with the target of reaching more than 200,000 women.
The aim is to grow the number of active residents from 1.6 million to 2.6 million by 2033.
The plan identifies 17 priority sports across three categories. There are emerging sports such as padel, combat sports and Esports. Community sports such as running and swimming, and finally those sports with a global reach, like golf, cricket, and basketball, which offer wide appeal and high economic impact.
