French football player Paul Pogba became a partner in the world’s first professional camel racing team. 32-year-old Pogba, who plays for Monaco, one of the French League teams, joined the Saudi Arabian team Al Haboob, competing in the Gulf region, as an ambassador and shareholder.
Stating that camel racing attracted his attention when he started spending more time in the Middle East in recent years, Pogba said, “I started to research this subject thoroughly. The more I learned, the more interesting it became. There is history, family ties, competition and pride behind this sport.” he said.
Noting that the region has become an important center of global sports with investments, the French star said that camel races deserve to be a part of this.
Camels that are champions of camel races, which have a long history in the Arabian Peninsula, can fetch buyers for more than 5 million dollars. Last year, the prize pool in the 16-race Al Ula Cup, which gives the biggest prize in this sport, was 6.4 million dollars.
Pogba, who won the championship with France in the 2018 World Cup, was away from the fields for 18 months due to the doping penalty he received while he was playing for Juventus.
The former star of Juventus and Manchester United, who signed a two-year contract with Monaco in June, played for the first time against Rennes last month.