Nasser Ghanim Al-Khelaïfi is a Qatari businessman and a former professional
tennis player. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of beIN Media
Group, chairman of Qatar Investment Authority, president of the Qatar Tennis
Federation and vice president of the Asian Tennis Federation for West Asia.
Al-Khelaïfi is chairman and chief executive officer of Paris Saint-Germain
Football Club in France, which is wholly owned by Qatar Sports Investments. He is
also a member of the organizing committee for the FIFA Club World Cup
and worth $1.5 billion beIN Media Group
On 31 December 2013, Al Jazeera Sport global operations were spun off from Al
Jazeera Media Network and rebranded as beIN Sports. In parallel, BeIN Media
Group was incorporated and became the official owner of beIN Sports. Nasser
Al-Khelaïfi was then appointed chairman and chief executive officer of beIN
Media Group. beIN Sports has 22 channels including 6 HD channels and broadcasts
across the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, North America, Australia and
Asia. The strategy, aside from building the beIN premium sports network, is to
develop the group's ambitions in sports and entertainment in production,
distribution and digital media sectors. Qatar Sports Investments
Nasser Al-Khelaïfi has been chairman of Qatar Sports Investments since June
2011. QSi is a fund dedicated to investments in the sport and leisure
industry on a national and international level.
Following the QSi acquisition of Paris Saint-Germain Football Club in June
2011, Nasser Al-Khelaifi became the chairman of the board of PSG and also
CEO of the club, reinforcing Qatari interest in French football.
QSi has several other high profile partnerships including sponsorship of
the FC Barcelona kit. QSi also owns the Burrda Sport sportswear brand.
Paris St-Germain Nasser Al-Khelaïfi became the new
chairman and chief executive officer of Paris Saint-Germain in October 2011.
Shortly after being named chairman he presented a five-year plan to take Paris
Saint-German to the top of the tree in France and abroad. As part of the long
term plan for the club, Al-Khelaïfi brought in legendary footballer,
Leonardo Araújo, as the new director of football.
Although Al-Khelaïfi had initially demanded a major trophy haul for the
2011-2012 season, PSG were soon eliminated from the Europa League and
both domestic cups, leaving the team only able to compete for the Ligue 1
title. Despite spending more than $180 million on players, PSG failed to
dominate, and lost out to eventual winners Montpellier HSC, though they did
qualify for the UEFA Champions League by finishing second.
In the 2012-13 season, PSG won the Ligue 1 title and also make it to the
quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, thanks partly to the goalscoring
of newly signed striker, Zlatan Ibrahimović. They eventually lost in a
two-legged tie to FC Barcelona on away goals.
In the 2013–14 season PSG again finished top of Ligue 1 with a record total of 89
points . They reached the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League where they
lost to Chelsea 3-3 on aggregate, again going out only on the away goals rule.
In June 2012 QSi acquired the Paris Handball Club and merged it with the PSG
sport franchise to create a wider and more competitive sport offer to the city
of Paris. Tennis
As a tennis professional, Al-Khelaïfi was the second most successful member of
the Qatar Davis Cup team after Sultan Khalfan, playing 43 ties between 1992
and 2002 and compiling a 12–31 record in singles, 12–16 in doubles. Al-Khelaïfi
appeared twice on the Association of Tennis Professionals main tour, losing
each time in his first round matches in St. Pölten in 1996 and in Doha in 2001.
He reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 995 in late 2002.
Nasser Al-Khelaïfi has been president of the Qatar Tennis Federation since
November 2008. In 2011, he was elected vice-president of the Asian Tennis
Federation for West Asia. Nasser Al-Khelaïfi is a former Davis Cup player
and member of the Qatar National Tennis Team with which he won the GCC Team
Tournament. Government of Qatar
In November 2013, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi was made Minister without Portfolio in the
Qatari government by the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim.
Personal life Al-Khelaïfi graduated from the
University of Qatar and is close to the Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani,
head of sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority.
In February, 2012, he won a French 'Sport Business' award, receiving the
most votes out of 1,500 and finishing ahead of nine people.
References