LAHORE: Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem said it was a “great honour” to have been invited by the government of the United Arab Emirates to attend the inaugural World Sports Summit next week alongside some of the biggest legends in global sport.
“It is a great honour for my country as well as for me to attend [it] and it is an occasion for every Pakistani to celebrate,” javelin champion Arshad, who will travel to the UAE on Sunday, told Dawn on Thursday.
“I don’t know about the other attendees but I’m hearing that stalwarts across the world of sport will be there,” added Arshad, who set a new Olympic record at the 2024 Paris Olympics by throwing his javelin to a distance of 92.97metres.
The World Sports Summit, organised by the Dubai Sports Council, will be held at the Madinat Jumeirah on December 29-30 under the slogan ‘Uniting the World Through Sports.’
According to the organisers, “the event will bring together current and former sports stars, top officials, experts, coaches and decision-makers from around the world to shape the future of the global sports sector”.
“The summit will feature a comprehensive programme including panel discussions, keynote speeches, workshops and networking opportunities with key figures from sports federations, teams, and industry leaders.”
Arshad, who has been selected as an honouree for the Mohammad bin Rashid Al Makhtoum Global Sports Award — named after the Prime Minister of the UAE, said it didn’t concern him that his Indian rival Neeraj Chopra had not been invited to the event.
Arshad has has been requested to feature in the summit programme and to receive the award during a parallel official ceremony.
The award, formerly known as the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award, “honours individuals, teams and organisations who have made significant sporting contributions in the United Arab Emirates and globally”. FIFA president Gianni Infantino received the International Sports Personality of the Year award last year.
Guests to the event include former Brazil striker and 2002 FIFA World Cup winner Ronaldo, Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur, former Mixed Martial Arts fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov as well as ex-boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.
Organisers announced on Thursday that France national team coach Didier Deschamps, who achieved a historic feat by winning the FIFA World Cup as a player in 1998 and as a coach in 2018, and boxing icon Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine will also attend.
Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2025
