AC Milan arrived last night in Dubai, where Coach Stefano Pioli, Fikayo Tomori and Brahim Díaz will pay a visit to the local Rossoneri fanbase through a number of fan-centric events, which will take place at Expo 2020 Dubai, as the global event prepares to wrap up on March 31. The trip will also see the Rossoneri delegation involved in a series of partner activations and meetings, an opportunity for the Club to be close to local partners.
As part of their two-day stay in Dubai, Pioli and the players will visit the Expo 2020 Dubai site, where they will meet 15 children during a special training session at the event's AC Milan Academy, which has so far involved over 600 children between 6 and 14 years old in the Sports, Fitness and Wellbeing Hub of Expo 2020 Dubai. Children participating in the special training session will not only create life-long memories with the coach and the players involved, but they will also receive their own AC Milan kit.
During their visit at Expo 2020 Dubai, the AC Milan coach and players will also get to witness the passion of the local fanbase for the Rossoneri colours during a special Q&A session at the Festival Garden, which will take place on Tuesday evening and is free to attend to anyone with a valid Expo 2020 Dubai entry ticket.
AC Milan coach, Stefano Pioli, commented on the trip to Dubai and the visit to Expo 2020 Dubai: "I have had the opportunity to visit Dubai in the past and I have some great memories there. I am looking forward to visiting Expo 2020 Dubai and witness the excitement of such a global event. Personally, I am particularly happy to meet our fans, especially the kids at the AC Milan Academy. Having the opportunity to share our experience and knowledge of the beautiful game with them is fantastic."
The trip will also serve as another opportunity for the Club to meet with its local partners and consolidate further its presence in a strategically important market. In the region, the Rossoneri are in fact currently involved in valuable relationships with brands such as Emirates, Principal Partner and alongside the Rossoneri since 2007, SIRO, Official Hotel Partner, and Jeeny, Official Local Partner, in addition to Expo 2020 Dubai, Official Partner.
This will be AC Milan's third visit to Dubai in less than six months, which underlines the commitment of the Club to the whole Middle Eastern region and to the United Arab Emirates in particular. In the country, according to Nielsen, football remains the most popular sport and AC Milan has the support of over 2.5 million passionate fans.
The Club and Expo 2020 Dubai are on a journey started last September with the aim of amplifying the key messages of the event, such as innovation and sustainability, inspiring positive change for future generations through the core values of sport and football in particular. A virtuous partnership with the first Expo hosted by a country in the MEASA region (Middle East, Africa and South Asia) which to date has hosted over 20 million people, reaching over 174 million people virtually, in a site covering an area as large as 613 football pitches and hosting almost 200 events a day. Together with Expo, the Club already hosted their first event of the series "From Milan to Many: Watch Parties" last November, which was attended by over 200 local Rossoneri fans who had the opportunity to watch the Champions League group stage match between AC Milan and FC Porto with AC Milan Brand Ambassador Daniele Massaro.
Additionally, during its latest visit in February, AC Milan played the leading role in an important event in line with Expo's main theme, "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future". The Rossoneri CEO Ivan Gazidis, invited as a global leader in the world of sport, was the keynote speaker at a panel discussion entitled "The future of football and its role in society: the importance of a new generation of sustainable stadiums", alongside Christopher Lee, Managing Director of Populous, the architectural firm responsible for the executive design of the new Milan stadium, and Ahmed Al Khatib, Chief Development and Delivery Officer of Expo 2020 Dubai.
