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]
