Dubai Holding launches first-ever national football fan group website

DUBAI, 8 December 2007: Reflecting its passion for the sport that has the highest fan following in the UAE, Dubai Holding, the official sponsor of the UAE national team, recently launched a new website www.dhfootball.com in alliance with the UAE Football Association (UAE FA).

Providing the latest news and results, the website will serve as a reliable and informative resource on the UAE football team. Upon registration, visitors to the site will be confirmed as official UAE team fans, and given a privileged membership card as official fan members, entitling them to newsletters and updates on the team as well as other exciting services and gifts that will be announced at a later stage.

Khalid Al Shafar, Marketing Manager of Dubai Holding, said: "This is our third year as the team's official sponsor. With the support of UAE FA, we hope the new fan group website will inspire fans throughout the country to express their solidarity for the team. We invite all UAE team fans to log in and sign on as members."

The UAE FA fan group website will feature team rosters, news, a calendar of events, and profiles of the individual players. It will also display the recent online football game that saw three lucky fans winning a trip to the Asia Cup in Vietnam. In addition, the site will have an extensive cache of images and screen savers of the national team and some of the best football moments.

Nadim Nassar, Marketing Manager of the UAE Football Association, said: "It is no coincidence that with the backing of Dubai Holding, the UAE National team won the 18th GCC Cup championship and has garnered widespread support from fans across the region.

"Both Dubai Holding and the UAE FA wish to reward these loyal fans and bring them closer to the action by providing them with the first-ever fully official UAE fan club group. This website will act as a meeting point for all UAE national team fans to interact with each other and have access to the latest news and scores of the national team. They will also be able to participate in exclusive competitions."

As part of its initiative to raise the standard of soccer in the UAE, Dubai Holding recently partnered with UAE FA to hold 'Tomorrow's Coaches', the first international seminar for football trainers in the UAE. Earlier this year, Dubai Holding also launched the 'Go Whites' initiative in the run up to the 18th Gulf Cup soccer championship, the region's premier soccer tournament that was held in Abu Dhabi.

Dubai Holding was launched in October 2004 to consolidate the various large-scale infrastructure and investment projects in Dubai, as well as to identify opportunities to develop future major projects that will benefit the UAE and the region.

The company has been created with the goal of providing a better future for all through the range of life-improving industries it is involved in. Each Dubai Holding operating company focuses on key areas which dynamically support the development of Dubai as a world-leading hub for commerce, leisure and finance.

Dubai Holding has created a strong foothold in various industries by developing pioneering initiatives spanning numerous sectors including healthcare, technology, finance, real estate, education, telecommunication, entertainment & leisure, energy, communication, industrial manufacturing, biotechnology, hospitality and aerospace.

Dubai Holding entities include: Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, Dubai Healthcare City, Dubailand, Dubai International Capital, Dubai Industrial City, Dubai Properties, Sama Dubai, Dubai Group, Dubai Energy, Dubai Knowledge Village, Dubai Outsource Zone, International Media Production Zone, e-Hosting Datafort, EMPOWER, Jumeirah Group, Dubiotech and Dubai Studio City.