Deschamps, Matuidi and Ronaldo head to Dubai
Fifa President Infantino to make fifth appearance in the 2019 conclave
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Fifa President Gianni Infantino will lead a star-studded list of speakers at the 13th Dubai International Sports Conference (DISC) as the game’s top decision-makers and stars assemble at the Madinat Jumeirah from January 2-3, 2019. This is the fifth consecutive appearance of Infantino at one of Dubai’s biggest sporting events that is held under the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives and organised by Dubai Sports Council (DSC) under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council.
The theme of the 13th edition of DISC is ‘Football and the Economy’, and the names of the speakers for this year was revealed by Saeed Hareb, General Secretary of DSC. The list of attendees also includes ‘O Fenomeno’ (The Phenomenon) Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima, a member of Brazil’s World Cup-winning teams of 1994 and 2002.
Ronaldo will share the dais with the winning captain of the 1998 World Cup final Didier Deschamps and Blaise Matuidi, winner of the 2018 World Cup with the French team, in a session titled ‘The World Cup Experience and Value of Success’
Infantino, meanwhile, will take centre stage in the noon session titled, ‘More than a Game’. Deschamps has the honour of being one of only three men, alongside Brazilian Mario Zagallo and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer, to win the World Cup both as player and manager.
“We welcome the Fifa president and some of the star footballers including Ronaldo, Deschamps and 2018 World Cup winner Matuidi. These people are directly associated with football at the highest level and their inputs will surely help change the way this sport is played,” Hareb said.