Fifa Under 17 World Cup in 2013 is awarded to UAE
The comparison isn't so much apples and oranges as apples and elephants. The Asian Champions League and Uefa Champions League share two-thirds of a title but nearly nothing else.
No sentient football fan in Asia would argue the point, assuming they could be prised away from televised Uefa Champions League matches long enough to consider the topic.
The same people soaking up Arsenal against Barcelona may be only dimly aware that their own continent has a 32-side club competition, which began four days ago. But we already know that long swathes of Asia, from the UAE to Malaysia, follow the Premier League as avidly as anyone living in Surrey or Kent.
The numbers tell the tale. Recent Champions League finals have been seen by around 110 million television viewers, the Asian Champions League (ACL) by less than one per cent of that total. A full house of 80,100 saw the 2010 Uefa final in the Bernabeu in Madrid; 27,308 were at the ACL final at National Stadium in Tokyo, capacity 48,000.
And money? A season-ending match between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur last May, upon which a Champions League berth hinged, was dubbed the "£50 million match" (Dh298m), because that was the additional revenue the winner could expect.
The value of a berth in the ACL hovers not far north of zero, unless a team manages to win the tournament. In that case, it may have banked about US$2.3m (Dh8.4m), $1.5m from the championship match. In Europe, clubs are awarded €3.9m (Dh20m) just for reaching the 32-team group stage.
We know the score now. But will the ACL be Uefa's little brother … forever?
If recent history is any indication, the answer is "no".
Asia is home to more than half the world's seven billion-plus people. It now boasts two of the world's three biggest economies, in China and Japan, and India is on the cusp of giving the continent three of the top 10. That means lots of eyeballs with rising incomes.
Someday, Asia will have elite clubs of its own, and its own avidly followed continental club competition. Or so Carlo Nohra, believes.
Nohra is the chief executive of the Pro League in the UAE and a former director of competitions at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). He believes that Asia has a "keen desire to replicate the European experience", and that includes consuming local football.
"We already see Asians wearing suits and embracing Western lifestyles," he said. "Louis Vuitton probably sells more handbags in Tokyo than it does in Paris. Football may take longer to make the jump, but I believe it will."
The ACL already has much to recommend it, even if it is a semi-solitary pastime. Real and fascinating differences in style and tactics exist in such a vast region.
To see Al Wahda play host to Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan this week was to watch high-pressure, semi-mechanical Soviet-style football against a more technical but leisurely UAE template. (To run hard for 90 minutes is madness in the Gulf.)
The Asian tournament also has made a jump in quality. Stricter requirements for entry have eliminated weaker sides from Syria, Kuwait, Iraq, Vietnam and Thailand, countries which received free passes into the ACL as recently as 2008.
The current ACL skews heavily toward the six strongest leagues on the continent, those in Japan, South Korea and China, in the east; and Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the west. Among them, those six countries account for 24 of the 32 clubs in this year's tournament, with Australia, Indonesia, Qatar and Uzbekistan making up the balance.
The AFC would love to see sides from India and Malaysia in the final 32, but they must earn their way. The ACL has become a meritocracy, and that means tougher competition, as well as a well-defined target for lesser leagues.
Sponsorship, too, is surging. The Singapore-based World Sports Group, to name one buyer, spent $10m for its AFC ties in 1992, Nohra said. For the period from 2013 through 2020, that figure will have risen to nearly $1 billion.
UAE sides will not discount the rigours of the new ACL. In the first round, Al Jazira and Wahda were held to home draws; Al Ain lost at home to FC Seoul; plucky Emirates fell 2-1 away to Zob Ahan of Iran.
Few Asian clubs have more than three decades of history, yet some of the newest are rocketing to prominence as well-heeled directors focus on taking their clubs to new heights. Today, Asia. Tomorrow, the world?
Fifty years hence, might Britons and Germans and Italians and Spaniards be watching the Asian Champions League avidly to see many of their best players compete for Al Hilal and Sepahan and Gamba Osaka and Beijing Gouan?
Do not discount the possibility.
"I have lived and worked in Asia, and I know what has been accomplished," Nohra said. "I know Asians want to achieve these things, and they have done it in the world outside football. Soon enough they will do it there, too. It's a tall order, but they will do it."
Europeans, he said "can laugh" at the idea of the ACL rivalling the Champions League. "But they take Asia lightly at their peril."
poberjuerge@thenational.ae
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
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8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Results
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,600m; Winner: RB Kings Bay, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: AF Ensito, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m; Winner: AF Sourouh, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
8.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Baaher, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
9pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Mootahady, Antonio Fresu, Eric Lemartinel
9.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Dubai Canal, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
10pm: Al Ain Cup – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Harrab, Bernardo Pinheiro, Majed Al Jahouri
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Reputation
Taylor Swift
(Big Machine Records)
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
Torbal Rayeh Wa Jayeh
Starring: Ali El Ghoureir, Khalil El Roumeithy, Mostafa Abo Seria
Stars: 3
