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Qatari businessman and sports executive

Nasser bin Ghanim Al-Khelaifi (Arabic: ناصر بن غانم الخليفي; born 12 November 1973) is a Qatari 🤶 businessman, sports executive, and former tennis player. He is the chairman of beIN Media Group and Qatar Sports Investments,[1][2] president 🤶 of Paris Saint-Germain F.C. and the Qatar Tennis Federation, and vice president of the Asian Tennis Federation for West Asia.[3][4]

Al-Khelaifi 🤶 is also a member of the organizing committee for the FIFA Club World Cup,[5] and has been elected as the 🤶 chairman of the European Club Association (ECA).

Early life and education [ edit ]

Al-Khelaifi was born in Qatar, a son of 🤶 a pearl fisherman,[6] and graduated with an Economics Degree from Qatar University. He also has a post graduate degree in 🤶 Maritime Studies from University of Piraeus.

Tennis career [ edit ]

Playing career [ edit ]

As a tennis professional, Al-Khelaifi was the 🤶 second most successful member of the Qatar Davis Cup team after Sultan Khalfan, playing 43 times between 1992 and 2002 🤶 and compiling a 12–31 record in singles, 12–16 in doubles. Al-Khelaifi appeared twice on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) 🤶 main tour, losing each time in his first round matches in St. Pölten in 1996 (where he lost to former 🤶 French Open Champion Thomas Muster) and in Doha in 2002. He reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 995 in 🤶 late 2002.[7][8] He also won the GCC Team Tournament.

Post-playing career [ edit ]

Nasser Al-Khelaifi has been president of the Qatar 🤶 Tennis Federation (QTF) since November 2008. In 2011, he was elected vice-president of the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) for West 🤶 Asia.[9]

Business career [ edit ]

Qatar Sports Investments [ edit ]

Nasser Al-Khelaifi has been chairman of Qatar Sports Investments (QSi) from 🤶 June 2011. QSi is a sovereign wealth fund dedicated to investments in the sport and leisure industry on a national 🤶 and international level.[1]

Following the QSi acquisition of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) football club in June 2011,[10] Nasser Al-Khelaifi became the chairman 🤶 of the board of PSG and also CEO of the club,[11] reinforcing Qatari interest in French football.

QSi has several other 🤶 high-profile partnerships. QSi also owns the Burrda sportswear brand.[12]

Paris Saint-Germain [ edit ]

Nasser Al-Khelaifi became the new president and chief 🤶 executive officer of Paris Saint-Germain on 7 October 2011.[13] Shortly after being named president, he presented a five-year plan to 🤶 take Paris Saint-Germain to the top of the tree in France and abroad.[14] As part of the long-term plan for 🤶 the club, Al-Khelaifi brought in former footballer Leonardo as the new director of football.[15]

Although Al-Khelaifi initially demanded a major trophy 🤶 haul for the 2011–12 season, PSG were soon eliminated from the UEFA Europa League and both domestic cups, leaving the 🤶 team only able to spendR$130 million on players. PSG failed to dominate, and lost out to eventual winners Montpellier, though 🤶 they qualified for the UEFA Champions League by finishing second.[16]

Zlatan Ibrahimović unveiled by Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo (right) and 🤶 President Nasser Al-Khelaifi (left)

In the 2012–13 season, PSG won the Ligue 1 title and also made it to the quarter-finals 🤶 of the UEFA Champions League, partly thanks 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.[17] 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.

Nasser Al-Khelaifi (left) with Neymar in August 2024 in 🤶 the Parc des Princes

In the 2024–19 UEFA Champions League knockout phase, they lost to Manchester United at home after leading 🤶 with two goals at Old Trafford in the first leg. PSG lost at home 1–3 (3–3 on aggregate) and were 🤶 knocked out by the away-goal 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.[18] Since 2012, Paris Saint-Germain 🤶 Handball has won the LNH Division 1 five times, while reaching the EHF Champions League final in 2024–17 and the 🤶 semi-finals in 2024–16 and 2024–18.

BEIN Media Group [ edit ]

On 31 December 2013, Al Jazeera Sport's global operations were spun 🤶 out of Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN) and rebranded as beIN Sports.[19] A few months later, beIN Media Group was 🤶 incorporated and became the official owner of beIN Sports branded networks as well as all other non-news and current affairs 🤶 assets originally belonging to AJMN.[2] beIN Sports has 22 channels, including 17 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.[promotion?]

In October 2024, the Swiss courts 🤶 opened an investigation against him for suspicion of private corruption in the allocation of television rights for the World Cups 🤶 2026 and 2030 for the Middle East and North Africa international media market.[20] On 30 October 2024, Nasser Al-Khelaifi was 🤶 cleared of the case over the awarding of television rights for the World Cup. Al-Khelaifi had been accused of aggravated 🤶 criminal mismanagement for his alleged part in a corruption trial involving former FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke. However, Valcke was 🤶 found guilty of forging documents related to television rights for the World Cup and was fined 24,000 Swiss francs ($26,500). 🤶 According to the Swiss attorney general’s office, it was alleged that Valcke exploited his FIFA role between 2013 and 2024 🤶 to favour media partners that he preferred by providing the media rights for various World Cup and Confederations Cup tournaments.[21]

Political 🤶 career [ edit ]

In November 2013, Al-Khelaifi was made minister without portfolio in the Qatari government by the Emir of 🤶 Qatar, Sheikh Tamim.[22]

Legal proceedings [ edit ]

Al-Khelaifi had been charged with corruption in May 2024 after being accused of attempting 🤶 to buy the rights to host the 2024 World Athletics Championships for Doha.[23]

Al-Khelaifi was charged by Swiss federal prosecutors in 🤶 connection with a wider bribery investigation linked to World Cup television rights in February 2024. However, Khelaifi stated that he 🤶 has been cleared of all suspicions of bribery and the case has been dismissed definitively and conclusively. [24]

On 9 March 🤶 2024, after Paris Saint-Germain's 1–3 away loss (2–3 aggregate score) to Real Madrid in the 2024–22 UEFA Champions League round 🤶 of 16, Al-Khelaifi allegedly assaulted a linesman and broke his flag and threatened a Madrid employee with murder.[25][26][27] Following investigation, 🤶 UEFA cleared Al-Khelaifi of all charges related to the match.[28][29]

Three investigating judges from the Paris court have been appointed in 🤶 February 2024 to investigate the accusations of kidnapping, sequestration and torture of a Franco-Algerian lobbyist, Tayeb Benabderrahmane, which targeted Al-Khelaïfi.[30] 🤶 And the former lawyer of the lobbyist, Olivier Pardo, stated that the lobbyist stole personal recordings of Al-Khelaïfi, of attempting 🤶 to blackmail Al-Khelaifi for “several tens of millions of euros”. [31]

Awards and honors [ edit ]

In February 2012, he won 🤶 a French 'Sport Business' award, receiving the most votes out of 1,500 and finishing ahead of nine people.[32]

His growing influence 🤶 in the sport was recognised in 2024 when he was voted 'favourite Ligue 1 president' in a poll conducted by 🤶 France Football, with 35% of the votes cast.

In 2024, the French daily sport newspaper L'Équipe named him the 'most powerful 🤶 man in French football' in a 30-man list, ahead of such notable individuals as Didier Deschamps and Zinedine Zidane.[33][34]

In 2024, 🤶 he was elected by the European Club Association as delegate at the UEFA executive committee, becoming the first Arab to 🤶 hold an UEFA position.[35]

In 2024, he was named the most influential person in football by France Football.[36]

In March 2024, Al-Khelaifi 🤶 was praised by World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus after offering to help in the global fight against the 🤶 COVID-19 pandemic by using his players and club to send health advice messages to the public.[37]

Personal life [ edit ]

He 🤶 is close to the Emir, Sheikh Tamim, head of sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority.

He is married, and has four 🤶 children who reside in Qatar.[38]

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