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Former Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo will be joined by goalkeeper Iker Casillas at the Dubai International Sports Conference Image Credit: AP Images for Guinness International Champions Cup

Dubai: Spain and Real Madrid goalkeeping legend Iker Casillas, regarded one of the greatest keepers in the history of football, has confirmed his presence as a speaker for this year’s Dubai International Sports Conference (DISC), which will take place on Sunday at Armani Hotel in Burj Khalifa, under the theme ‘Football at the Top’.

The Spain and Real Madrid star, known as “Saint Iker” among his fans, will join fellow Madrid hero Cristiano Ronaldo and Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski on Sunday, with the trio talking about their respective journeys to the top in their glittering careers.

A Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiative, DISC is organised under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Sports Council (DSC), every year and has been bringing football’s top stakeholders together since 2006 for discussions on ways to develop and enrich the sport at the domestic, regional and international level.

This year, DISC will feature three of the biggest football stars of this generation — Juventus and Portugal ace Ronaldo, 2010 World Cup winner Casillas, and 2020 Fifa Men’s Player of the Year Lewandowski — alongside a number of other top decision-makers from across the world when it convenes on Sunday evening.

One of the few players to achieve over 1,000 professional career matches, and owner of the record for most clean sheets in the Champions League, as well as for the Spain national team, Casillas will share his experiences with the audience and talk about his celebrated career, as well as his achievements with club and country.

DSC is organising the conference and Dubai Globe Soccer Awards in the presence of a number of people concerned with sports in general and football in particular, from within and outside the country, as well as nominees and representative of nominees for the many Dubai Globe Soccer Awards categories.

The Conference and Awards will be the first event to be organised with the physical participation and presence of international football stars and the game’s top decision-makers since the outbreak of COVID-19, and organisers will be implementing all the necessary COVID-19 precautionary measures and protocols as mandated by Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management.