Football investment: A profitable but risky business in Egypt, Arab world

Arab investors are willing to enter into deals to buy or sponsor European football clubs, and inject huge investments in them; however, they still cannot see the attractiveness of such environment in Arab football.

Arab investments in major European football clubs started in 1997 when Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, owner of Harrods, bought English club Fulham for £30m, before selling it in 2013 to Pakistani businessperson Shahid Khan for £150m. Afterwards, more Arab investments in European clubs followed.

First football investment experience in Egypt

In 1997, former Makkasa Sport Chairperson Amr Mostafa Kamel, who was only 30-years-old at the time, undertook the first investment experience in Egyptian football. He injected EGP 1.5m investment in a domestic football team.

The investment saw him sponsored El Sharkia SC for a season. Kamel made the investment, seeking to benefit from his experience working in asset management in the stock market.