Source: Eurosport
FACTBOX - UAE's Al-Fahim takes over Portsmouth
(Reuters) - Portsmouth became the second Premier League club to be owned by investors from the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday when they confirmed a takeover led by Sulaiman al-Fahim.
Here are some facts on al-Fahim:
SOCCER:
* Al-Fahim, who had been in talks for some time with former Portsmouth owner Alexandre Gaydamak about buying the club, said he hoped to deliver success to the club.
* He is a board member of the Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment and fronted the bid from Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan to buy Manchester City in 2008. The United Arab Emirates is the world's third-largest oil exporter and the capital Abu Dhabi controls 90 percent of the country's oil reserves.
* Al-Fahim is building a football academy in Abu Dhabi with Italy's Inter Milan.
BUSINESS LIFE:
* Al-Fahim was chief executive of Hydra Properties from 2005 until June 2009 when he became a member of the company's board.
He helped turn the firm into one of the world's fastest growing companies, signing off some $2 billion (1.2 billion pounds) in projects in its first two years.
* Through Hydra, al-Fahim has invested in Dubai sports television, a Costa Rican football team and the German Bundesliga football league.
LIFE DETAILS:
* Born in 1977, he is an avid chess player, and president of the UAE Chess Federation.
* He is also the star of his own reality television show "The Hydra Executives" - a version of the television series "The Apprentice."
* He is also author of the best-selling book "Brand Builder," and has scooped an International Achievement award at the Middle East Awards in Dubai.
* He is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations as well as honorary chairman of the Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Organisation (IREO), a body charged with seeking out the best scientists and companies working in the industry and to promote renewable energy projects and technologies.
Sources: Reuters/www.arabianbusiness.com/www.portsmouth.co.uk
