Former Barcelona and Brazil star Ronaldinho in UAE, to also visit Pakistan on goodwill mission

Ronaldinho is shown during a 2010 Serie A match as a member of AC Milan. Fabrizio Giovannozzi / AP Photo file

Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho is in the UAE and is scheduled for a press conference in Dubai on Wednesday to promote his football academy at the Koora Dome football facility.

Earlier this month, Spanish giants Barcelona announced their former star would return to act as an ambassador for the club.

The recently retired 36-year-old is also set to visit Pakistan as part of a goodwill mission to promote the game in the cricket-mad country.

The two-time World Player of the Year and 2002 World Cup winner issued a short video message on Twitter saying simply “Pakistan, I am coming” as he unfurled a Pakistani flag.

News of Ronaldinho’s comes as Pakistan seeks to revive international sports fixtures that were disrupted by a militant attack on Sri Lanka’s cricket team in 2009.

Those efforts were given a boost when the country successfully staged the final of its Pakistan Super League cricket tournament in Lahore earlier this month, a rare match featuring prominent international sports stars.

Shahrukh Sohail, a Pakistan representative for the company confirmed the visit Tuesday, adding the company would be launching tournaments next month in Pakistan’s major cities Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore.

Cricket-obsessed Pakistan has a strong base of football fans and players, particularly in southwestern Balochistan and the southern city of Karachi.

But its national team has struggled in recent decades and has fallen to a lowly 198th place in the Fifa rankings.

Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) officials were involved in court wranglings against each other for the last two years, forcing the men’s and women’s teams out of international competitions.

The Lahore High Court last month decided in favour of recognising Faisal Saleh Hayat as the federation’s chief, a post he has held on-and-off since 2003 without being able to turn around the team’s fortunes.

* The National staff with Agence France-Presse

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