Abu Dhabi billionaire Sulaiman Al-Fahim said on Tuesday he has completed a deal to buy English Premier League club Portsmouth FC.

Al Fahim, the sole owner and chairman of Al Fahim Asia Associates, will join the existing four-member Board of Portsmouth Football Club as chairman with immediate effect.

The appointment of Sulaiman Al Fahim follows confirmation by the FA Premier League that he has passed its criteria to be deemed a "a fit and proper" person to control a Premier League club.  Al Fahim  is the first person to pass the new fit and proper test.

“I very much look forward to working closely with the Club’s management and supporters to develop Portsmouth Football Club and deliver future success.  The Club has a long and fine history of achievement that I intend to build on,” said Sulaiman Al Fahim.

Fahim, along with a group of investors, had been in talks to complete a deal to buy Portsmouth for several months.

Soccer, viewed as a high profile and glamorous industry, is being targeted for investment by Gulf firms as Western investors tighten their belts in the global economic slowdown.