Maradona appointed Dubai`s sports ambassador

Dubai: Argentine football legend Diego Maradona, who was fired as coach of Dubai`s Al Wasl Football Club in July, has been appointed an honorary sports ambassador of the sheikhdom, the Dubai Sports Council said Sunday.

Maradona, 51, signed a contract for one year with the Dubai Sports Council. His curtly career as a trainer of Al Wasl ended after one season due to the club`s poor results. An honorary sports ambassador`s task is to represent the sheikhdom in order to improve Dubai`s publicity in relation to its readiness to host major international sports events. The government of Dubai has frequently expressed ambitions to host Olympics or the FIFA World Cup. Maradona, a FIFA World Cup champion of 1986 and Argentina coach in 2010, expressed in mid-August his desire to take over a trainer job in China, but his plans have not materialised as yet. IANS