By Sean Ingle
It is known as the sport of the sheikhs, with thousands of fans packing desert tracks to watch robot jockeys compete for huge prizes. Now professional camel racing has a new high-profile investor: Paul Pogba.
The Monaco midfielder said he had become a shareholder in the Saudi Arabia-based Al Haboob, the world’s first professional camel racing team competing across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Gulf, because he wanted to “elevate the sport on to a global stage”.
“I’ve always been someone who wants to try new things and do things differently – whether it’s how I play, how I express myself, or how I approach life off the pitch,” the former Manchester United player said. “That mindset has followed me into my business world too.”
The sport involves significant investment, with top camels selling for millions of pounds and races offering large prizes.
Last year the prize pool for the AlUla Camel Cup, the most lucrative competition in the sport, was $6.4m (about N9.3b) across 16 races.
Pogba, who returned to football last month after an 18-month ban for taking a supplement containing a banned substance, insisted his investment had come about because he was a big fan of the sport.
“I’ve watched my fair share of races on YouTube and spent time doing research in my spare time trying to understand the techniques and strategies,” he said. “And what stood out to me is how much dedication it takes from everyone involved. At the end of the day, sport is sport. It demands heart, sacrifice and teamwork.”
Pogba, who became the world’s most expensive player when he joined Manchester United from Juventus in 2016 for £89m, has set his sights on owning the world’s most expensive camel.
“Owning the world’s most expensive camel one day would be a beautiful full-circle moment – something fun, something meaningful and something that excites me,” he told the BBC. “Maybe one day we make it happen.”
Al Haboob, founded by the entrepreneurs Omar Almaeena and Safwan Modir, is the first modern camel racing team to compete internationally.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Pogba (left) and some racing camels (right).
