Dubai: Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, yesterday welcomed delegates of the Dubai International Sports Conference, which takes place tomorrow and on Thursday.

The Fifa World Cup and Uefa's Europa and Champions League trophies will be on show at the Dubai Sports Council-organised conference, which will see the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Alessandro Del Piero, Fabio Capello and guests discuss Football Companies: Current and Future Trends.

Pioneer

"The Council was a pioneer in preparing the sports sector to enter the stage of professionalism as an inevitable result of the evolution of the sports sector in our region, similar to developments in the global sports," Shaikh Hamdan said.

He added the international sports conference is held in line with the council's strategy to invite experts and stakeholders of successful international experiences to share their experiences and views and with professionals in the sports sector in the UAE to help support local sport institutions.

Dr Aisha Bu Sumait, the conference director, said: "We are keen to bring and show those cups during the conference's programmes to reflect the hard work and diligence exerted by winning clubs and national teams.

"Today we will show the Fifa World Cup for the second time along with the other two prestigious European cups — the Uefa European Champions League and Europa League Cup."

Each of the three cups will be shown on a separate platform during the launch of the conference. The cups will then be shown in a special section of the conference's exhibition. It is the first time the three titles have been shown together in one place. The trophies are currently held by Spain, Barcelona and Porto.