Dubai: Dubai-based football legend Diego Maradona has promised to devote his time to stamping out the menace of drug use in sports.
Maradona was one of the dignitaries invited by Dubai Police to formally announce its Fourth International Conference on Sport Versus Crime under the theme ‘Sport without Crime’.
“I’ve experienced first hand the use or the misuse of drugs in sports. I would never want anyone, especially our young children, to go through the same thing,” Maradona told media.
“Incidents of violence, unruly behaviour and drugs do not have a place in sport. We need to stamp these out completely. A sports event is where an individual comes to show his talent and compete fairly to win and it should remain a sporting event where spectators come and enjoy the show,” he said.
“Sport and crime are educational issues and these need to be tackled from a young age in the schools and in the clubs that the young ones attend. Sport is a weapon to fight social evils. In the past, I have experienced first hand what it means to be impacted by drugs. I’ve lived through it all and now I am all for protecting our children and our future generations,” he added.
The Fourth International Conference on Sport Versus Crime will be held at the Rayhaan Rotana Hotel, Deira, from November 25-27 under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman, Dubai Sports Council (DSC).
Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police Deputy Commandant General, was also present when the announcement was made. “Everything in life has rules and these rules need to be respected,” Al Mazeina said.
“Organising this conference in Dubai does not mean that we have these issues prevalent in our sporting events. We are here to address an issue that affects everyone, irrespective of which country they come from. And during this three-day conference, we hope we can discuss, debate and arrive at some solutions for these modern-day security issues in sports,” he added.
“Winning and losing are part of any sport and everyone needs to understand this. What happens on the sports field is to be left on the playground. There is no place for such behaviour in society.”
Maradona and Al Mazeina were joined by representatives from Al Futtaim (official sponsor); Dodsal (platinum sponsor); Eazee Biz (sponsorship partner) and Medialand (main event organiser).