City vs. Al Ain game epitomizes the UAE’s decades’ worth of sports investments

The UAE’s state-led investment in global (and domestic) sport is getting ink in the Athletic, which used Manchester City and Al Ain’s Sunday’s Club World Cup face-off in Atlanta as an entry point for a profile of the decades’ worth of investments in sports from the Abu Dhabi-based Al Nahyan and Dubai-based Al Maktoum families. The sports news outlet points to a long-term strategy rooted in infrastructure development over splashy transfers, though despite the heavy investments, the local football culture is still behind others in the region and abroad.

IN CONTEXT- The match brought together two clubs backed by the UAE’s most senior leaders: City is owned by UAE Vice President Mansour bin Zayed, while Al Ain — the UAE’s most decorated club — has been led by his brother, President Mohamed bin Zayed, since 1979.

The business of sports in the UAE extends beyond direct investments in football clubs — airlines like Emirates and Etihad Airways are also sponsors of UAE-backed and UAE-based football clubs, including City, which is backed by the latter, and Al Ain, which is the official partner for the former.