São Paulo – The emirate of Dubai will welcome Ronaldinho Gaúcho and Ronaldo Nazário (pictured, from left to right), two veteran Brazilian football players, will be at the 13th Dubai International Sports Conference. They will sit on a panel on “Economic Opportunities for Players and Coaches”, alongside the French national team’s coach Didier Deschamps and player Blaise Matuidi, who also plays for Juventus (Italy). France won the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The event will be held by the Dubai Sports Council on January 2 and 3 at the Madinat Jumeirah Resort. The panel featuring Ronaldo and Ronaldinho will be held on the opening day at 3:45 pm. Other speakers will include FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Argentinian former player Diego Maradona and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo and Ronaldinho will share their experiences as winners of the FIFA World Cup. They were in the team that beat Germany in the final to bring home Brazil’s fifth title during the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan/South Korea. Ronaldo was named Golden Boot with eight goals scored. Ronaldinho scored one of the most plastic goals in the event, a foul kick during the quarter-finals against England, carrying the team to the semifinals.
Ronaldo, nickname “The Phenomenon,” was also a champion in the 1994 World Cup, and helped move the Brazilian national team into the 1998 World Cup final, which saw Brazil endure a 3 x 0 loss against France, the home team.
Ronaldo ‘The Phenomenon’ is a three-time winner of FIFA’s World Player of the Year award, in 1996, 1997 and 2002, and a two-time winner FIFA Golden Ball winner, in 1997 and 2002. He is the second-biggest scorer ever in Brazil, trailing Pelé.
Ronaldinho is hailed as one of the most talented, fun players of his generation and one of the greatest of all time. He won FIFA World Player of the Year twice, in 2004 and 2005, and FIFA Golden Ball once, in 2005.
The full program and a list of speakers in the event – which will be themed “Football and Economy – is available on the event’s website. Tickets for January 2 only go for AED 1,280. The two-day package costs AED 3.650, including the panels and the Globe Soccer Awards. The Dubai International Sports Conference was first held in 2006. The event is designed to discuss challenges and ways of developing the sport regionally and internationally.
Quick facts
13th Dubai International Sports Conference
January 2-3, 2019
Madinat Jumeirah Resort
Dubai, UAE
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
