AC Milan unveil ambitious plans with new Dubai base 'a key pillar of growth'

AC Milan view Dubai and the Middle East as “a key pillar of growth and of our strategy going forward” in ensuring success on and off the pitch, as the club launched a new base in the emirate.

The 19-time Italian champions officially inaugurated Casa Milan Dubai on Sunday night at ICD Brookfield Place in Dubai International Financial Centre.

The venture, described as Milan’s home in the Middle East, represents the club’s first office in the region and only their second outside Italy, alongside Shanghai. They are also the first Italian club to open an office in the Middle East and North Africa.

Currently third in Serie A, Milan have a long-standing connection to the UAE, with Emirates airline a principal partner after first collaborating with the club in 2007. The airline has been the club’s lead shirt sponsor since 2010. Meanwhile, Siro, part of the Dubai-based Kerzner group, serves as Milan’s official hotel partner.

“Opening this office is a very important step for us in our forward-looking journey," Giorgio Furlani, Milan's chief executive, told The National. "If you go back 10 years ago, we've had a period of some difficulty as a club, as a company, and on the field we went through a process of turnaround and streamlining and changing of strategy that started about five years ago.

“And then, last year, under the guidance of our new controlling shareholder, RedBird Capital, we've embarked on this new process of continuous growth and, we hope, success on and off the field. So the Middle East as a region, and Dubai in particular, are very important to us."

Furlani added: “They are a key pillar of growth and of our strategy going forward. We’ve had a relationship with the region and with Dubai for a long time.

"We've been