What an enjoyable and engaging day at yesterday’s Middle East Sports Investment Forum 2024 (MESIF) at the Emirates Stadium. It was an impressive turnout with strong representation from the Middle East and UK, including Government reps, rights holders, client bodies, consultants, experts….and others from the Middle East sports family. The discussion covered a lot of ground, but the key takeaways for me are: * The need for agility and innovation to cater for new audiences. For example, in Saudi Arabia where 60% of the population is under 30. * Women’s sport is growing and will continue to boom. * Where properly planned, elite sports products and programmes can have an immense effect on grass roots sport and communities. * From a resourcing point of view, it is crucial to build capacity, enhance knowledge and grow skillsets in order to achieve such ambitious plans. And finally….what a privilege it is to play a small role in shaping the future of Middle East sports during a period of such profound change! #Trivandi #MESIF2024 #GlobalSports #MajorEvents
Good to meet you Paul. Let me know if you ever passing through Qatar.
Your point about “where properly planned..” cannot be understated. We have seen so many sports facilities and venues designed to win design awards rather than designed to meet the vision, objectives, business plan and operations. Great design has to consider all these criteria.
Thanks for sharing your observations Paul May - exciting times!
Knowing KSA/ME quite well, completely agree with your points, especially the final one re. building capacity. Primarily human capacity amongst the local citizens. Saudi is a gold mine when it comes to local, young talent!
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9moSounds like a great event. I’m really interested in the point around agility and innovation to cater for new audiences.