Sport Desk
RIYADH: Al Haboob (الهَبُوب), the world’s first professional camel racing team competing across the GCC, is driven by an ambition to dominate the sport and to create impact both on and off the track through bold marketing and storytelling. After generating global attention with the announcement of football icon Paul Pogba as ambassador and stakeholder in December 2025, the focus now turns firmly to securing success in the upcoming race schedule.
Founded by Omar Almaeena and Safwan Modir, Al Haboob is establishing itself on the elite camel racing circuit. Kicking off 2026, the team has competed at the Al Wathba Race in Abu Dhabi and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Festival in Riyadh, signaling its arrival among the region’s leading competitors. Although Al Haboob has yet to secure a major win, the team is doubling down on its long-term vision – expanding its roster and openly sharing the strategy behind how it identifies, evaluates, and invests in future champions.
“As for how we acquire camels, our approach is driven by three key principles,” says Safwan Modir, who oversees operations at Al Haboob. “First, competitive pedigree – proven results, titles, and prize success. Second, bloodline – strength of lineage on both the sire and dam sides. And third, sustainability – overall health and the length of a camel’s remaining racing career.”
He continues: “Right now, all eyes are on Al Haboob. We’re seen as one of the most well known and only professional camel racing teams in the world, and that brings real pressure. The competition is intense, and our presence at the Riyadh festival showed just how high the performance levels have become across the sport.”
Ambition meets heritage: Founded in Saudi Arabia, Al Haboob blends centuries-old heritage with elite performance, modern sports science, and storytelling. Founders Omar Almaeena and Safwan Modir began their journey in 2021 with RedSea Camel Company and later co-created and starred in Netflix’s Camel Quest. Their long-term vision is to launch the world’s first professional Camel Racing League, taking the sport global while honouring its rich heritage.
Paul Pogba’s groundbreaking announcement for Al Haboob was a statement of intent that underlines the team’s ambition to become one of the world’s leading camel racing teams and to make a lasting impact both on and off the track.
“The goal of Al Haboob is to generate worldwide attention, just as we did with the Pogba announcement, and use that momentum to introduce camel racing to entirely new audiences.” says Omar Almaeena, who manages Creative and Production for the team. “We want to do cross sports activations, audacious pieces of marketing with the intent to help more people become interested in the sport and help us commercially with sponsorships.
“We’re investing in every level of the operation – from growing the squad and boosting performance to strengthening the welfare systems that protect and develop our camels.”
Upcoming races: Team Al Haboob is charging into a blockbuster 2026 season, beginning with the iconic Al Bashayer Festival in the Sultanate of Oman this February – one of the Gulf’s most prestigious and fiercely contested racing festivals.
Momentum then builds toward one of the biggest stages in the sport: The Crown Prince Camel Festival in Taif, Saudi Arabia (August 2026). Widely recognised as the largest camel race on the planet, the festival regularly shatters its own Guinness World Records for scale. The 2025 edition alone saw over 100,000 camels compete for a staggering SAR 50 million+ in prize money, cementing its status as the ultimate proving ground for elite racing camel teams.
From now until August, Al Haboob will take its campaign across the region, competing at major festivals in the UAE, Qatar, and Oman – hoping to secure triumph and legacy in the sport.
