Edison

Faisal Muhammad Al-Shammari

January 02, 2023

We are not talking here about one of the most important inventors of the 20th century, but perhaps one of the geniuses of mankind who have a role in the development of the electricity sector, and we will not say the inventor of the electric current and lighting (in order to avoid the controversy of accusing him of stealing the invention of Tesla, the real father of the electric current that blessed us with the luxury and prosperity of life in its current form in Our homes and offices), but we will talk about another genius that we all know as "Pele".

Edison Arantes do Nascimento (Pele), his name is not associated with Edison, the inventor purely by chance, but rather he was named after the inventor, Thomas Edison, because electricity arrived in the family home shortly before he was born.

Some may see that his genius is equal to the importance of the genius of the well-known inventor, and his fame exceeded in another field, and with a stronger impact he touched the lives of the poor in his country, Brazil, and occupied the minds and consciences of football fans around the world.

Influencers among athletes play an important impact on our lives and our economy, and Pele’s famous pause during one of his matches to tie his shoes brought him huge amounts of money at the time and with a simple movement, but it reflects shrewdness and sophistication in making the situation and exploiting it without harm or negative impact on others, so that the situation becomes a gateway to advertising The transformation of sports into an important economic industry, which affected all other industries, from sports shoes to clothing and others, to include the advertising industry.

The impact of football players became evident, and one of them entered any place to turn heads, twist necks, and turn eyes towards these players.

And with the death of the King or the Black Pearl, the most famous and greatest football player, the legend of the last century, who was known for standing with the poor of his country and taking political positions, the most prominent of which was his insistence on international retirement, and other declared positions.

And we have a pause with the sports deal of the century, which may not be considered the most expensive, but it is the most important and most influential, perhaps in the world and certainly in our Arab region, which is the contract of the Saudi Al-Nasr Club, with Portuguese Ronaldo.

Some may ask what does that mean?!

Monitoring and following up the increase in Al-Nasr club's followers during the first few hours, after announcing the completion of the deal or even the search patterns on Google, will show that this player constitutes a hurricane in itself, and not a sporting soft power with a mighty effect.

It may contribute to achieving what multiple media and advertising tools have not been able to achieve with one stone, and perhaps at a lower cost.

Perhaps the most important of these is breaking the stereotyped image of the region, and reflecting a true honorable image that is due to the Arab world and the Gulf in particular.

Will there come a time soon when we have someone who can influence like him, globally or regionally?

At the moment.. I doubt it.

Sports is an industry of the impossible, and we hope to see a redefinition of professionalism, because in its current state we have a blurry definition of true professionalism.

It is courageous for us to ask our clubs to study the abolition of some games that do not generate returns equivalent to what is spent on them, similar to what happened in some clubs for some games (such as basketball, volleyball, and other team games, for various reasons), and perhaps studying and publishing what is spent on football Football and comparing it to the achievements and gains achieved, we must encourage some clubs, which have spent billions over the years, to reconsider what they spent, and we do not say to write off the game, but at least reconsider what is spent, as there are other games and skills that have a better chance In achieving global success and leadership.

With our vision of the centenary, we must put aside our emotions and record with paper and pen the returns of our investments in the sports sector as a whole and in team games in particular, and compare them with individual games, to make decisions far from passion, bias, and sports fanaticism. Perhaps the decision to merge some sports clubs is a step in the 1,000-mile journey.

Management consultant, digital transformation, and certified institutional excellence expert

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