Due to bad weather conditions, the Snack Summit Dubai online took place last week. The event was organised by SFS in partnership with Italiacamp.

The event, titled ‘A Story of Sport Transformation’ and streamed live on the SFS linkedIn page, aimed to create a moment of reflection on the change and evolution taking place in the UAE and other parts of the Middle East.

The Snack Summit started at 11 a.m. local time with the institutional greetings of the Consul General of Italy in Dubai H.E. Giuseppe Finocchiaro, SFS Director, Massimo Tucci, and the General Manager of Italiacamp EMEA, Leo Cisotta. The various panels were moderated by Cristina Guida La Licata.

Here are some quotes from guests. The first panel was attended by: Budreya Faisal Presidente Banaat FC, who said «my expectations weren’t high is what I’m going to say for the numbers of participants or interested parties in women’s football when I started. But we did something as simple as putting on a form on our website after we did a cool launch of the club with GQ and we made it fancy and all got people interest, we have registred more 480 emirati women. Need to come to say, we are now going to invest in women’s football to support it, we are going to prioritize it once that comes, the people will follow».

Greta Nardeschi, Regional Director MENA AC Milan, who told «In order to be global a brand need to be local, you need to be aware of the local market, If you want to contribute to the global mission of the brand. One of the most reason why there is a office here, is to collaborate more with our partners, grow the fanbase and grow the family of partners the club has decided to invest in a full time presence of MENA that knows the intrinsic details of how things really are done, are perceived, are planned over here».

Fabrizio Puglisi, CEO Juventus Academy, «talking about sport and transformation it’s impossible not to mention the academy as the most brilliant example of positive transformation, because, we are actually generators of emotions and we must not forget this especially when it comes to children and their families. Our role as a club in general and a coaches in particular is to transform the children a life for the better and the go the coach player relationship is the most important one developed in football because, they can have a very powerful impact on their children every single day» and continued by saying «Juventus FC motto is growing up people before players».

Mohamed Harb, Head of Sports and Gaming MENA Tiktok, who claimed « Tiktok just wanted to actually be faithful to what it represents as to inclusion and diversity and empowering entrepreneur a great initiative for level up or elevate the whole society».

At the second panel entitled Driving global investment, were confronted: Valerio Soldani, Director Italian Trade Agency Dubai – «we’re seeing an interest not just in the product but in the experience. The ecosystem of Italian companies, from this perspective, is able to offer a lot», and continued saying – “We support these companies through an omni-channel trade promotion».

Guido Fienga, CEO Al Nassr, who said «In Saudi, people really like and follow football. But the growth of SPL is not only in Saudi Arabia. We also see important results in the rest of Middle East (UAE, Qatar etc), in North Africa and in Asia where SPL became the second product in terms of championship”, and he said that “Without develop properties and infrastructures our events won’t be international but domestic product».

Michele Napoli CEO RCS Sports e Events DMCC, who told «For sports events, we are entering a new phase in the UAE. Organizing events not only to showcase Dubai through the broadcaster but also to attract a significant number of tourists from around the world through major competitions».

Matteo Mantovani, Strategic Consultant HQWS, who claimed «Iraqi people breathe and live football. They watch and argue football 24/7.  The stability of the country and the impact that football can have on the society itself, push LaLiga to move in Iraq».

Two moments of great confrontation, sharing, and plans for the near future, as underlined by Andrea Basile, CTO of Go Project, the agency that owns SFS «SFS with the Snack Summit in Dubai wanted to lay an important stone to establish a great partnership with the Hub of Italiacamp in the UAE as well, continuing the internationalisation phase, giving different possibilities to its partners, increasing its network and its positioning in the world panorama of events dedicated to the football industry».