• Agreement to strengthen friendship between Brazil and Arab countries
• Latest collaboration to help promote football team in Arab region

June 07, 2021- The Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) is set to sign a partnership agreement with São Paulo Football Club (FC), one of the most popular Brazilian sports associations worldwide, to further strengthen the friendship between Brazil and Arab countries and promote the Brazilian football team in the region.     

The signing ceremony will be broadcast live from the club’s headquarters at the Cícero Pompeu de Toledo (Morumbi) Stadium during ABCC’s new webinar episode. Set to ink the agreement are Julio Casares, President of São Paulo FC, and ABCC President Osmar Chohfi. Hamad Bin Mejren, Vice President of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), and professional footballer Cafu, the captain of the five-time world champion Brazilian National Team and the most internationally capped Brazilian player of all time, will be the virtual forum’s special guests.

Commenting on the partnership, Casares said: “Our collaboration is important for the expansion of the São Paulo-based club. It will enable us to generate new sources of revenue and fully showcase the football brand in the Arab world.  We at São Paulo FC consider our alliance with the ABCC to be strategic and fundamental.”

Chohfi, for his part, stated: “The agreement aims to contribute to the development of a mutually beneficial cooperation program. As we all know, football is one of the great passions of Arabs who follow popular Brazilian sports heroes such as Pelé, Ronaldo, and Neymar. We will not only promote greater recognition of São Paulo FC in the Arab countries through our partnership. But we will also encourage the creation of friendship ties spanning far beyond football such as stimulating new businesses between Brazilians and the 22 countries that make up the Arab League.”

This latest cooperation is part of the institutional project of the trade association to internationalize the brand of the traditional football club from the city of São Paulo in the Arab countries. The prominent São Paulo FC is a six-time Brazilian champion, three-time champion of the Copa Libertadores da América, and three-time world champion. It is also the Brazilian record holder for participation in international tournaments and has over 18 million fans in Brazil and abroad.

ABCC was established to build economic, social, and cultural relations between the Brazilian and Arab peoples. Its new ties with São Paulo FC are in keeping with this mission. Last year, the Arab-Brazilian Chamber commissioned an extensive survey on the presence of Arabs and their descendants in Brazil to reflect the same commitment. The study demonstrated the actual size of the Arab population in the country and the importance of economic, cultural, and sporting ties between the Brazilian people and the Arab world.