The Qatar World Cup (Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images)
Mr Dein said he has been to Qatar many times. He added: “They have done a tremendous amount of work on their human rights, the migrant workers, their attitude towards LGBTQ. They deserve some credit for that.”
In a wide-ranging interview about his new memoir, Calling the Shots: How to Win in Football and Life, Mr Dein also reflected on his failed bid to host the 2018 World Cup in England, describing Russia’s winning bid as “one of the biggest disappointments of my life”.
“I worked very, very hard to bring it to England, but forces above decided otherwise. The World Cup in Russia was a success. Now we’ve got to make it a success [in Qatar].”
A football fan since the age of ten when his uncle took him to his first game, the man who was key to Arsenal’s trophy-laden years says the ethics instilled in him by his Jewish family have guided him throughout his career.
“I was brought up in a Jewish household where family was everything. It gave me a certain bonding, it gave me values and the integrity to do things the right way."
He was still at primary school when he saw his first match, but it would be another three decades before he worked in the beautiful game.
His first job was importing Caribbean foods to sell at Shepherd’s Bush Market, in West London, and after that he worked in the sugar trade.
In 1983, he bought a single share in Arsenal, a purchase that allowed him to see the club’s accounts — and which led to the discovery that 15 per cent of its shares were unissued. He sent the club’s board a letter saying he wanted to buy them and enclosed a blank cheque.
“I had the temerity to send in a signed blank cheque. I wanted to get involved in the decision-making of the club.”
He did that quickly, becoming Arsenal’s vice chair that year.
Dein at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium (Photo: Arsenal football club)
In 2007, he was “forced off” the board in a move he describes as “brutal.” He admits he still feels aggreived and has “unfinished business” at Arsenal.
For its part, his old club refuses to stock his new book in its Emirates shop.
He is incredibly proud of how the Premier League, which he helped found 30 years ago this year, has developed. “It is the most envied, most respected, most profitable and most televised league in the world,” he says.
These days, though, Mr Dein dedicates his time to his prisoner rehabilitation charity The Twinning Project, which links prisons in England and Wales with local professional clubs.
Calling the Shots: How to Win in Football and Life by David Dein is out now (£22, Constable)
