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THE FORUM brings together elite leaders from sport, leisure and entertainment
Aleksander Čeferin, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, Javier Tebas, Rafael Louzán, Jorge Mas, David Villa, Fernando Torres, Luis Figo, and Pablo Barrios were among the participants at the event organised in collaboration with Apollo Sports Capital.
The Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Thursday hosted THE FORUM, a summit promoted by Atlético de Madrid and Apollo Sports Capital. The event brought together executives from world-leading sports, leisure and entertainment organisations under the theme 'Leaders Inspiring the World'.
Our President, Enrique Cerezo, welcomed the attendees and highlighted the significance of the event as a hub where professionals can analyse and debate the future of the industry.
"The world of football is experiencing immense growth, not only as a sport but as an industry. I am confident that today’s insights will help us build a new industry and an exciting future," our President noted.
Following this, our CEO, Miguel Ángel Gil, pointed out that the football industry has evolved and now extends far beyond what happens on the pitch. In this regard, he highlighted the experiences that will be offered by the future 'Ciudad del Deporte' (Sports City).
"Atlético de Madrid has been working for some time to ensure that football is much more than just 90 minutes. We are achieving that. In this stadium alone, throughout 2025, we have hosted more than 250 corporate events for between 300 and 5,000 people, 23 music events for 60,000 people, and 24 football matches for nearly 70,000 fans… In short, we have been visited by approximately 3.5 million people," our CEO stated.
The first panel of the meeting featured Rob Givone (CCO, Apollo Sports Capital), Antoine Bonnier (CEO, Quantum Pacific), and Ben Enowitz (CFO, MARI Group).
During his contribution, Rob Givone remarked: "What is great about Atlético is that we have the best organisation and the best management team. I would challenge anyone to try and find anything better in the world of football."
Antoine Bonnier highlighted the evolution of football clubs, stating that "it is crucial to highlight Atlético de Madrid's talent for establishing itself as the standard-bearer for the new business model."
Ben Enowitz emphasised the value of football as a shared experience for fans: "Sport is a passion, like eating or drinking… People love to share and celebrate; that is why the world of football has so much in common with the events and entertainment industry."
Further panels focused on industry-leading football clubs—featuring Ferrán Soriano (CEO, City Football Group) and Jorge Mas (Managing Owner, Inter Miami)—as well as the global impact of Spanish institutions and companies. In the latter, insights were shared by Alberto Rodríguez-Toquero (CEO, Mahou San Miguel), Francisco Hein (Co-founder, Fever), and Maite Gómez Fraile (VP Officer, Cabify). This section of the event also included José Luis Martínez-Almeida (Mayor of Madrid), Javier Tebas (President of LaLiga), and Rafael Louzán (President of the RFEF). Our COO, Óscar Mayo, moderated the panel featuring the presidents of the two Spanish football governing bodies.
Javier Tebas asserted that "the balance between domestic competitions is where a brand is made, and this is built by all the clubs," while Rafael Louzán spoke about the 2030 World Cup, which will be held in Spain among other nations: "We are working on this great event that will project us to the world; it is an opportunity that cannot be missed."
Our board member and former player, David Villa, took part in a panel on elite footballers alongside Luis Figo, GestiFute founder Jorge Mendes, and the Spanish women's national team head coach, Sonia Bermúdez.
David Villa noted the importance of a footballer's environment: "Everything happens very quickly and when you are playing you aren't aware of it, so it is very important to surround yourself with good people, because success often clouds the mind."
Our midfielder Pablo Barrios spoke alongside Camilo Andrade (VP/GM Global Football, Nike) in a panel moderated by Óscar Mayo titled ‘Dando forma al Fútbol del Futuro’ (Shaping Tomorrow's Football). The Rojiblanco academy graduate stated: "It is a source of pride that children want to look up to us and be like us in the future."
Another club legend and academy product, Fernando Torres, reflected alongside Jeff Sharma (VP Brand, EA SPORTS FC) on fan passion and young people dreaming of becoming professionals. "You have to let young people make mistakes. You have to let them express themselves and try what they want to do. It’s part of the process. Respect, commitment, and passion are the three main pillars," said the current Atlético Madrileño coach.
Subsequent panels addressed global sports brands and properties, as well as the world of entertainment, featuring Adam Boukadida (Riyadh Air), Maëva Haguma (Visit Rwanda), Cristina Pitarch (Google), Jorge Garbajosa (FIBA), Carmelo Ezpeleta (MotoGP), Boris Gartner (RELEVENT), Chris Granger (Oak View Group), and Jordan Zachary (LIVE NATION).
The event concluded with two exclusive talks featuring Nasser Al-Khelaïfi (President of European Football Clubs - EFC - and Paris Saint-Germain) and Aleksander Čeferin (President of UEFA).
Guillem Balagué spoke with Nasser Al-Khelaïfi regarding various current issues in international football. The PSG President discussed, among other topics, UC3, the joint venture created in 2025 by the EFC and UEFA: "We created the joint venture and reached a fair agreement between both parties. We are building something bigger for the clubs."
Finally, Vicente Vallés conducted an engaging conversation with Aleksander Čeferin, which served as the grand finale for THE FORUM. "We all live in the same ecosystem. Miguel Ángel and Nasser Al-Khelaïfi are very positive. We have to understand that we all have the same goal: we want football to flourish and improve," the UEFA President concluded to bring the event to a close.
