DSC announces action-packed sporting calendar

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Sports Council (DSC) announced that many of the world’s leading sports stars will be joining Expo 2020 Dubai to promote their countries on the global stage and participate in numerous sporting events organised throughout the next six months.

DSC, along with its partners, has collaborated with Expo 2020 Dubai to organise several sporting activities and events on the sidelines of the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region, which kicks off on Oct.1, 2021 The Council said that the 16th Dubai International Sports Conference (DISC) – a Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiative – and Dubai Globe football Awards will take place during Expo 2020 Dubai.

Since its launch in 2006, the Conference has welcomed more than 400 international and national speakers and moderators, including some of the biggest names in football like Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo; Argentine virtuoso – and Expo 2020 Dubai ambassador – Lionel Messi; French legend Zinedine Zidane; and the late Argentine legend Diego Maradona.

The DSC has also confirmed that the prestigious Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award ceremony will also take place at Expo 2020 on Jan.9, 2022.

The 11th edition of the Award will see Emirati and Arab heroes from the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games being honoured at a glittering Awards ceremony.

A number of other events will take place at Expo 2020, including the FIDE World Chess Championship 2021.

The Expo 2020 Run takes place on Nov.19, giving participants the unique opportunity to run on a course that snakes its way through the Expo 2020 districts and around different Country Pavilions.

Expo 2020 will also take centre stage on Feb.25, 2022, when top international cycling teams and riders of the UCI WorldTour head to Expo 2020 for the Dubai stage of the tour.

Dubai will also host more than 30 international sports events during Expo 2020 across the emirate, including the men’s and women’s Rugby World Cup qualifiers in October and November, cricket’s Twenty20 World Cup, and the European Tour’s ‘Race to Dubai’ finale, the DP World Tour Championship.

Under the theme “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” and featuring 191 Country Pavilions, Expo 2020 is expected to attract 25 million visits, welcoming some of the greatest minds and personalities from the worlds of science and technology, economy, literature and show business.

The countries participating in Expo 2020 have also organised a number of sports-related events at the Sports, Fitness and Wellbeing Hub, many featuring some big names in sport.

Australia, has scheduled more than 500 events at the Hub, while their trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand will have sports events stretching across five weeks including Les Mills Live fitness sessions.

Croatia, meanwhile, will be bringing two of their top football stars, Real Madrid’s Luka Modrić and Davor Šuker, President of the Croatian Football Federation. Croatian NBA stars Dario Šarić and Bojan Bogdanović will also be meeting and greeting fans.

The Italy Pavilion team will organise fitness classes and workshops, while the Hungary Pavilion will host a tournament featuring teqball – a new ball-based sport – and present its programme for the development of school sports.

The Football Legends Championship, courtesy of the Nigeria Pavilion, will allow fans the opportunity to meet players like Jay-Jay Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu and Mikel John Obi, as well as two-time unified world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua of the United Kingdom.

The Senegal Pavilion will host events to promote the Dakar 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games – the first International Olympic Committee event to be held in Africa and the first in a Muslim-majority country.