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29 March 2024

Toshiba blends into Al Ahli’s development plans

Al Ahli stars Ahmed Khalil (second left) and Fabio Cannavaro (second right) displaying their new jersey after CEO of Al Ahli Ahmad Khalifa Hammad (left) and Toshiba Gulf managing director Yasuyoshi Matsunaga ink a three-year partnership agreement in Dubai. (XAVIER WILSON)

Published
By Allaam Ousman
Al Ahli Football Club’s stock seems to be growing by the day this season with Toshiba agreeing to form a strategic partnership with the ambitious Dubai-based club for the next three years.
“The partnership means we will be working closely with a world leader and innovator in high technology and electronics,” said Ahmad Khalifa Hamad, CEO of Al Ahli, at a press conference at the Montgomerie, Dubai.
He described the partnership as a “major part of the club’s commercial strategy” which will enable further investment in the on and off-field business of the club.
“We are planning to improve not only our football and sporting capabilities, but also confirm the club as a thriving fan-focused business,” said Hamad.
The club’s business plan for the coming months involves building on the number of fans at home games. The last match against Al Wasl, which Al Ahli won 4-1, saw 6,600 people come through the gates.
Investment will be made to make Rashid Stadium accessible to fans of all nationalities in Dubai. “We will listen to what communities want out of their local football club and announce more partnership deals in the next two weeks,” said Hamad. “We are already becoming more open and have been reaching out to all of Dubai’s communities.”
Al Ahli are away to Ittihad Kalba when the Pro-League resumes on Thursday while their next home match is against Al Jazira on September 25.
“This is one of the very important deals in the football industry in UAE,” reiterated Hamad while welcoming Toshiba to become a partner in their success.
Yasuyoshi Matsunaga, managing director of Toshiba Gulf, said they were pleased to be associated with a “prestigious football club like Al Ahli.”
He was confident their partnership would be mutually beneficial to both parties. “My job is to expand Toshiba’s business in the Middle East. Through the tie-up with Al Ahli, Toshiba is going to be bigger in the region. Al Ahli will also have a much bigger fan base in UAE,” he said.
Matsunaga admitted that Al Ahli became an attractive club to be associated with because of Italy’s World Cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro. “There is no question about that. Everybody understands that ofcourse. He has great feet, a great guy. He is world famous just like name Toshiba, I hope,” he said.
Cannavaro acknowledged that Toshiba has now become part of the Al Ahli family and vowed to achieve their objective of winning the league title this year or in future.
UAE national player Ahmad Khalil said having Toshiba as a sponsor was a major boost to the club. “For me personally and fans of the club it is an honour. It makes us feel more important as players to have Toshiba with us,” said the 19-year-old striker.
He also feels Cannavaro is having a positive influence on the team. “He is a world class player. Myself and the rest of the team are learning a lot from him,” he said.
Cannavaro, 37, also sees young Khalil as a player with great potential. “He is a very strong player. I do talk to him often and try to help him. But at the end it depends on his will and determination in training and in the games,” he said.
The former World Player of the Year is unfazed by the disappointing start Al Ahli had to the season when they lost to Al Dhafra in the opener. “In the second game (against Al Wasl) we proved to everybody that we have a strong team,” he said.
He shrugged off the two bookings he has picked up so far and vowed to continue playing his normal game. “It is for fouls which were not really dangerous but it happens,” he said.
Asked whether he was surprised by the difference in standards in the UAE Pro-League, Cannavaro quipped that it was only the heat which surprised him. “Nowadays the level is high anywhere you go in the world. There is room for improvement in this league but it also depends on how you prepare yourself for games. The level is very good at the moment and hope it improves even more in future,” he said.
The former Juventus and Real Madrid defender who is on a two-year contract with Al Ahli was keen to pass on his experience to the younger members of the team. “I bring with me more than 20 years of experience. I want to give that to players and team. Since I came I have been available 100 per cent because I feel it is important to reach out to the young players in the team,” he said.