Sheikh Mansour's 'other' club

As well as owning Man City, Sheikh Mansour also owns Abu Dhabi side Al Jazira

By Ian Cheeseman
BBC Radio Manchester in Abu Dhabi

As I follow Manchester City's visit to their "second home" in Abu Dhabi, one of the the questions Blues fans ask is: "Will Sheikh Mansour buy the City of Manchester Stadium and the land around it and build hotels and an entertainment complex?"

Maybe there's a clue in the way his "other" club, Al Jazira, is developing.

I visited their Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, where big developments are under way, as Aramal Barachman, one of the club's academy coaches told me.

It's frightening how big we could become during the next two or three years Former Manchester City goalkeeper Alex Williams

"This is a new stadium, one of the best ever. As the new seats are put in, there will be room for 45,000 spectators," he said.

"The stadium used to hold just 12,000. Sheikh Mansour, who is the club president, attends every match here and is a big fan.

"It's free for ordinary fans to attend games here. Sheikh Mansour wants to involve normal people in football, and especially his favourite team, and since there are only around one million local people living in the UAE, he wants to encourage them to come."

Another question constantly asked by City fans is: "Is Sheikh Mansour in it for the long haul?"

Barachman believes he is: "He has been involved in Al Jazira for 10 years now and I think he will have the same commitment to Manchester City. He will stay and he is very patient. It's good for City to have an owner with his personality."

City have growing ties with Al Jazira. Their former goalkeeper and mastermind behind the award-winning "City in the community" initiative, Alex Williams, has been working with a large group of children with disabilities while City are in town.

It's a project organised by Kathleen Austrin, a special needs advisor for the Abu Dhabi Government, because she had been impressed by City's community wing.

Sheikh Mansour has been involved with Al Jazira for 10 years

Williams told me: "There is a growing link between City and Al Jazira, particularly at academy level, and this stadium is superb.

"Everything has changed so much at City since I was a player, and it's frightening how big we could become during the next two or three years."

Al Jazira are building two huge hotels in the corners of their developing stadium, and next door they're expanding facilities for handball, volleyball and basketball and they already have an Olympic-size swimming pool.

Rumours back in Manchester suggest City are buying up the land around the City of Manchester Stadium, ready to expand their sporting and leisure interests.

On the evidence of the owner's Abu Dhabi-based club, expect a long-term commitment and exciting expansion at "Middle Eastlands" very soon.