Champions League final highlights Al-Khelaïfi ties to PSG, UEFA, beIN and Qatar
The Champions League final on Saturday will be an especially busy one for Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, perhaps the most multi-tasked official in world soccer.
As president of Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain since 2011, Al-Khelaïfi's main goal is seeing his team become champion of Europe for the first time against Inter Milan in Munich.
As chairman of the influential European Club Association, he leads 700 member teams increasingly taking over from UEFA in shaping sporting and commercial decisions for the Champions League. It also puts him on UEFA's strategy-setting executive committee.
As chairman of Qatari broadcaster beIN Media Group, Al-Khelaïfi controls exclusive Champions League rights to air the final in the Middle East, North Africa and much of South-East Asia.
'Nasser Al-Khelaïfi is considered a visionary leader in the media industry,' beIN says on its website, adding that in 2016 he 'also acquired the Hollywood film studio Miramax.'
He also is a minister in Qatar's government, a director of its sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and chairman of Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) that owns PSG.
QSI and Al-Khelaïfi — a former tennis professional — also are key in the fast-emerging racket sport padel which has ambitions to be an Olympic sport, maybe in time for the 2036 Summer Games that Qatar and its tennis-loving Emir want to host.
Among the invited VIP guests in Munich is Thomas Bach, the outgoing though still influential president of the International Olympic Committee.
Saturday can be a peak of Al-Khelaïfi's 14-year career in international soccer that has fueled talk — despite ongoing investigations of his sports career by French authorities — he could be a future FIFA president.
Al-Khelaïfi declined comment to The Associated Press after a recent UEFA meeting in Bilbao, Spain.
In a statement, PSG said he 'doesn't want to be a distraction and wants humble focus for the team.'
From tennis to soccer
Now aged 51, Al-Khelaïfi was a tennis pro who played for Qatar in the Davis Cup, bringing him into contact with the future Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Al-Khelaïfi's ATP biography shows his ranking peaked at No. 995 and he played two matches on tour. The first in 1996 was against world No. 2 Thomas Muster in Austria. Brief footage shows a good-natured exchange of shots with Muster in a 6-0, 6-1 mismatch.
Al-Khelaïfi's career ended in 2003 and he joined the start-up Al Jazeera Sport as 'Director of Rights Acquisitions,' according to beIN.
Qatar stunned soccer in 2010, when FIFA awarded it 2022 World Cup hosting rights, and PSG was bought within months.
Rising in soccer
The rise of ambitious clubs fueled by Middle East sovereign cash — Qatar and PSG, Abu Dhabi and Manchester City — concerned the storied elite. The ECA helped UEFA introduce financial control rules for European competitions that saw both clubs deducted 20 million euros ($22.7 million) of Champions League prize money in 2014.
Still, while Man City did not get on the ECA board, Al-Khelaïfi was elected in 2016. Three years later he got one of two seats reserved for clubs on the UEFA executive committee (ExCo) — despite in-house cautioning about conflicts of interest.
Conflicted interests?
On election day in 2019 in Rome, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin was asked about potential conflicts of interest around Al-Khelaïfi. BeIN was, and still is, among UEFA's main clients also owning extensive European Championship rights.
Ceferin's narrowly focused answer was that ExCo members are not involved in approving commercial deals.
Any conflict worked in UEFA's favor in 2021 when ECA leaders launched the Super League project designed to rival and replace the Champions League, which beIN broadcasts.
PSG's refusal to join rebel clubs from Spain, Italy and England helped to undermine the breakaway that ultimately failed amid a fan backlash and British government threats of legislation.
In the fallout, Al-Khelaïfi took over leading the ECA and quickly repaired relations with UEFA and Ceferin.
One year later, UEFA opened a disciplinary case into claims the PSG president confronted the match referee after losing in the Champions League at Real Madrid.
When UEFA published the verdict Al-Khelaïfi was no longer cited and blame was put on sporting director Leonardo, who PSG had fired weeks earlier.
Challenges in France
Al-Khelaïfi is not always popular in France where PSG has won 11 of 14 league titles during Qatari ownership. His powerful role has attracted criticism, particularly from John Textor, the American owner at Lyon, including that PSG's funding model involving Qatari money allegedly breaks European Union laws.
The pair have argued about poor management of the league's TV rights. In leaked footage from a 2024 meeting of Ligue 1 club owners, Al-Khelaïfi called Textor a cowboy. Textor described his rival as a bully with a conflict of interest given his role at beIN.
Al-Khelaïfi's legal challenges in France include some not related to PSG. The recent preliminary charges about possible alleged corruption relate to his links to a French businessman.
Proceedings were dropped in relation to Qatari bids to host track and field's world championships, which Doha staged in 2019.
In Switzerland, Al-Khelaïfi stood trial twice and was acquitted both times on charges of inciting a top FIFA official to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement from 2013-15.
Thursdays
Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.
His lawyers said after the second acquittal in 2022 that 'years of baseless allegations, fictitious charges and constant smears have been proven to be completely and wholly unsubstantiated — twice.'
___
AP Sports Writer Tales Azzoni contributed from Bilbao, Spain
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
42 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
US soccer great Tobin Heath hoping Club World Cup spurs more growth for game at home
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Tobin Heath might know something about what makes soccer resonate within the U.S. Her resume, in part: She won NCAA titles in college at North Carolina, then went on to win two Olympic gold medals with the U.S. women's national team and two World Cup titles as well, all of that coming after she was inspired by the 1999 Women's World Cup. And so far, she thinks the Club World Cup could have a similar effect. Heath — who is working as part of FIFA's technical study group for the tournament, alongside the likes of former Arsenal coach Arsène Wenger, former German star and U.S. men's national coach Jurgen Klinsmann and others — said Saturday that a match she attended earlier this month between Bayern Munich and Boca Juniors, with a full and jammed stadium in South Florida playing host to that matchup, shows what could be possible in this country. 'As an American, it was one of the coolest experiences of my life to witness that passion and energy,' Heath — during a FIFA briefing with the technical group — said. 'It's something I never believed I could see in my own country. And the stadium was literally shaking. You could feel it, and the fans were absolutely incredible. So, I know the power of these home competitions. … I know the power of these games in our country, to change the landscape of this game in our country.' The attendance for the games in the Club World Cup has varied widely; some stadiums are jammed, some pretty much empty. With the tournament entering the knockout round and some strong matchups ahead — including Lionel Messi and Inter Miami taking on his former team, Paris Saint-Germain, on Sunday in Atlanta — there should be plenty of good crowds throughout the remainder of the event, as FIFA looks to build momentum toward the World Cup that's coming to North America next year. 'This is a fantastic dress rehearsal for us,' Heath said. Only one U.S.-based team made the knockout stage: Messi's Inter Miami, though some wonder if that's a club that will have a true pronounced effect on soccer in this country. Messi is the biggest name in the sport and has an enormous following everywhere, one that obviously existed long before he came to Miami two years ago. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. 'Messi has not the best data of this tournament, but he's certainly the most influential player of this tournament — because without him Inter Miami would never qualify,' Wenger said. The job of the technical study group is simple: watch all the matches, either live or on television (with the benefit of many screens and angles), assess style of play and determine what is making teams successful. The level of data collected from these matches is beyond deep; reports are more than 50 pages thick and measure everything from time it takes a team to recover possession after a giveaway to how hard players are sprinting at key times of a match. 'This tournament has blown me away,' Heath said. 'It's made me even more excited for the summer to come, and I couldn't be more proud of this country. It shows that football is deeply embedded and deeply personal to our country. I can't wait to see the growth.' ___ AP soccer:
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Pogba signs 2-year deal with Monaco to relaunch career after doping ban
Former France midfielder Paul Pogba joined Monaco on a two-year contract on Saturday in a bid to relaunch a stellar career derailed by injuries and a doping ban. Monaco confirmed the widely expected transfer on the club website, and in a video posted on X, with the 32-year-old Pogba wearing the club's red-and-white jersey. The former Juventus and Manchester United player will play in the French top flight for the first time. Monaco finished third in Ligue 1 last season and Pogba, who has been without a club since leaving Juventus last year, gets the chance to play Champions League soccer again providing Monaco gets through qualifying. Pogba honed his technique in France at Le Havre's academy but signed with Manchester United at age 16 in 2009. Previously one of the world's top midfielders, Pogba made more headlines in recent years with his off-field problems. Last year, Juventus said it came to 'a mutual agreement' with him to cancel his contract despite the 2018 World Cup winner having a ban for doping slashed. The Serie A club never seemed enthusiastic about welcoming him back after his four-year ban for doping was cut to 18 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Pogba tested positive for testosterone in 2023 and was handed the maximum punishment by Italy's anti-doping court. CAS judges reduced it as they acknowledged a lack of intent and said his positive test was the result of erroneously taking a prescribed supplement. In 2016, Paul became the then-most expensive soccer player in history when he returned to United from Juventus for a fee of 105 million euros ($116 million). He has played 91 times for France and scored in the World Cup final when Les Bleus beat Croatia 4-2. Kylian Mbappé, who also scored in the 2018 final and enjoyed a good relationship with Pogba, posted a message on Instagram saying 'Pogback' and 'Daghe Munegu' (which in Monaco dialect means 'Go Monaco.') Overall, Pogba netted 39 goals for United in 226 games. He returned to Juventus as a free agent in 2022, but injuries limited him to 12 matches in his second spell at the club. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Monaco's signing of Pogba shows an intent to mount a stronger challenge for the French title next season after wasting a good start last season. ___ AP Sports Writer Jerome Pugmire in Paris contributed. ___ AP soccer:
Winnipeg Free Press
8 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Canada's Aaron Brown: Grand Slam Track brought platform, professionalism to sport
It was meant to be quite the finale in the City of Stars this weekend. Instead, the inaugural Grand Slam Track season came to a halt with the cancellation of its final leg in Los Angeles earlier in June. The league became a talking point and a source of excitement for track athletes signed to Grand Slam Track, especially those from North America. It provided an opportunity for athletes to compete against the best without having to travel overseas. Toronto sprinter Aaron Brown, who competed in the most recent event in Philadelphia, feels the league brought something greater to the sport for Canadians. 'For athletes in Canada or athletes in America, being able to just stay within the country or go to Jamaica somewhere on this similar time zone, you know, not having to go overseas it's a huge benefit,' he said. 'It allows us to have better performances too because you're not having a deal with such jet lag, … you don't have to show up (to the meet) super early you can train a little bit longer and harder and be in your the comfort of your own home for a longer time.' Michael Johnson, the founder and commissioner of Grand Slam Track, said the league is looking ahead to 2026 and beyond. 'Sometimes we have to make moves that aren't comfortable, but what's most important is the future and sustainability of the league,' he said as part of a statement. Brown says the opportunity is there for fans in North America to get used to the faces of the sport's stars that will be at the 2028 L.A. Olympics. 'I think meets like the Grand Slam are finally going to get us to that point where we can take advantage of it,' he said. 'Especially heading into L.A. 2028, that's a huge opportunity for people to get used to who the stars are going to be in L.A., get an early look at them, and be able to follow them into their, into the journey to that meet. 'Which is huge because it adds a narrative and incentive for you to pay attention. And so I just think that if track and field wants to have a professional league, this is the best way for them to do it. And, you know, I'm invested in their success.' Seven-time Olympic medallist Andre De Grasse of Markham, Ont., is another one of Canada's stars to have competed in Grand Slam, in addition to 2023 800-metre world champion and 2024 Olympic silver medallist Marco Arop, who competed in both the 800 and 1,500 as a short-distance racer. Arop stood out among the Canadian cohort, winning the 800 races in the three Grand Slam events held. Although he didn't fare as well in the 1,500, Arop was among the top point-getters in the short distance group, finishing no lower than second and being first at the Philadelphia event. Competition aside, Brown said Grand Slam Track provided things that are not typically offered at other meets. Brown said locally-sourced snacks were provided, on top of a drip check done to shoot athletes and display their outfits. Collab posts to helped athletes push each other's audiences. He also said athletes got their own rooms for accomodations, were given per diems that were provided 'to go select the food ourselves,' and that the prize money was 'significantly more than any other meet that's available to the athletes.' 'I think at the very least, it gave us the blueprint of how a meet could be run and what's possible,' Brown said. 'Getting out of that myopic viewpoint that we have to follow the same model and do things that we've been doing for decades that has led to stagnation in the sport and not allow us to evolve and grow and adapt like all the other sports have. 'So, I think just showing that athletes can be at the forefront. We have stars in our sports, and the more support we get behind it, the bigger it's going to be.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2025.
