Dubai will be home to ISEZA, the country’s first dedicated sports and entertainment business cluster operating within a Free Zone environment.
The hub aims to streamline licensing for sports and entertainment businesses while creating a collaborative ecosystem to accelerate industry growth.
ISEZA will operate within the Dubai World Trade Centre Free Zone, providing a unified platform for businesses across established sectors including sports management, marketing, event management, talent representation, and media broadcasting, the Dubai Media Office (DMO) said in a statement on Tuesday.
Dubai World Trade Centre unveils ISEZA sports business free zone
The zone will also support emerging areas such as e-sports, AI-driven sports technology, and fan tokens.
Dubai’s sports industry currently contributes approximately $2.5 billion annually to the Emirates’s economy. The new zone joins over 40 Free Zones across the UAE, each focusing on different industries.
“The launch of ISEZA within the DWTC Free Zone will foster a dynamic ecosystem, empowering sports and entertainment businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs to thrive. ISEZA members will benefit from our award-winning Free Zone’s prime location in the heart of the city’s business district, streamlined business setup, and access to valuable networking opportunities through our diverse events and exhibitions calendar. By attracting sports and entertainment-focused businesses, we are reinforcing Dubai’s status as a global business hub and contributing to the growth of the sports sector in alignment with the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33),” Khaled AlFahim, Vice President of Asset & Investment Management at Dubai World Trade Centre said.
The zone will target a range of industry participants including global brands, sports leagues and franchises, rights owners, investors, sports agencies, talent agencies, athletes, media personalities, social media influencers, and creative professionals.
It will also seek to attract international and regional sports organisations, including federations, associations, and leagues.
“Our project is aligned with Dubai’s strategic vision of being a global destination for sports, entertainment and tourism. This initiative will have a major social impact creating a unique environment for hosting sports exhibitions, museums, academic programs and community projects in Dubai World Trade Centre and Dubai Expo areas. Driven by the UAE’s vision of business development with higher social impact, we believe it will further contribute to the promotion of active sports and healthy lifestyle in the UAE overall,” Damir Valeev, ISEZA CEO added.
Located in One Central, near the Dubai Museum of the Future, ISEZA will collaborate with key UAE authorities including the UAE Ministry of Sports, Dubai Sports Council, and UAE National Olympic Community to provide tailored corporate and legal support to its members.
The initiative aims to contribute to the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) by cementing the city’s position as a global business hub for sports and entertainment.
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