A first in the country, the JCCI under its sport investment committee and in cooperation with Bendoni Communication BC will organize a three-day forum to discuss opening up of sports sector to private investors.

Dubbed “Soccer Development: Sports, entertainment and social perspectives, the forum to be held at dates to be announced will be officially opened by General Yout Welfare Presidency President Prince Nawaf bin Faisal.

FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, government officials who are representing the sport sector and Arab and foreign guests will attend the forum, according to

Mohi Al-Din Yahiya Hakami, JCCI assistant secretary general.

Hakami told Arab News, the holding of such event marks the start of a new phase in the privatization of sports industry, including the setup of a new sports industry.

“Professional football is gaining an increasing social and economic importance,” Hakami said.

Nowadays, he added, the sports world and especially football clubs need experts capable of handling all issues connected to the management of this particular business.

The creation of the sport development forum is inspired by the need to provide sport operators with an adequate managerial, administrative and legal educational base, he said.

Moreover, the forum aims to analyze the main football systems worldwide in order to study business models and successful sporting structures and strategies, he pointed out.

“The forum intends to be an annual opportunity for discussion and analysis in order to enable the sporting system of Saudi Arabia to keep growing, also thanks to studying successful models from around the world.”

Among the main objectives of the forum is creating a unique forum structure at an international level with a view to organizing a meeting every year, he said.

According to Bendoni Communication BC, the forum is practically unique at international level, especially in the Middle East, and aims to produce a new professional model and a new generation of managers in tune with the steadily changing world of modern sports.

By the end of the forum, participants will have been acquired up-to-date information on economic and commercial aspects of football and developed the management and administrative skills required for many positions in the sports industry, especially football clubs, the BC source said.

The ideal targets of the forum are: Sporting institutions, club owners and investors, general club managers, club consultants and advisers, club sporting and technical sector, football players and coaches, the BC source added.

The list of speakers participating in the Jeddah Sports Development Forum (JSDF) are: Blatter Alessandro Moggi (international player agent), Ernesto Paolillo (Milano international),Giovanni Branchini (international player agent), Jorge Mendes (international player agent), Jose Mourinho (Real Madrid coach), Luis Figo (International Milano ambassador), Marco Bogarelli (sport and media chairman), Marco Brunelli ( Italian Serie A league), Paolo Maldini (former AC Milan player), and Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid Sporting Director).

The forum will cover a broad range of topics as follows : Models in professional football, sport law and disputes resolution, club’s governance and regulations , new models, club licensing, financial fair play, status and transfer of players, sport marketing, football commercial strategies, managing the stadium, football investment and social impacts and building sport results, sport law and disputes resolution, arbitration system and disciplinary codes, status and transfer of Players, representation agreement, player’s contract and international transfer system, business, social and sport achievements, sport marketing football commercial strategies, image rights, sponsorship merchandising, TV and new media rights, managing the stadium, commercial exploitation,naming rights, hospitality, ticketing, football investments and social impacts, facilities planning, grass pitch and clubhouse , youth camp and academies, social projects, building sport results, programming the future, training models and grooming good players.