Maradona to attend sport versus crime conference

Dubai: Legendary footballer Diego Maradona will be the star attraction at the Fifth International Sport Versus Crime Conference to be held next week.

Maradona made an appearance at the fourth edition of the annual conference last year along with sprinter Ben Johnson of Canada. However, this year the Argentinean star is expected to attend some of the sessions and contribute in the discussions in a more inter-active manner.

Held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council (DSC), the annual event will be held at the Dubai Police Officers Club from January 26 to 28.

The fourth edition of the conference held in November 2013, was conducted with the theme ‘Protection from crime and combating it’ in the presence of Johnson as the main speaker. Johnson, who was found guilty, stripped of his medals and banned for using drugs during the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, spoke from his personal experiences on the misuse of drugs to further his career in athletics.

“The core idea is to protect people especially our youth from the evils of crime. During the past four editions we have successfully managed to counter several issues related to society through an effective seminar,” said Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police Chief.

“The youth is the future of any country and we feel the need to educate them and keep them away from crime and the negative effects it can have on our society,” he added.

Held with the theme of ‘Sports and Delinquency’, next week’s conference is expected to be bigger and better than the previous four occasions with at least one more prominent sportsperson tipped to join Maradona in the discussions.

The Dodsal Group, Saudi German and Al Futtaim Motors are among the main sponsors of the annual event.