How Covid-19 helped Formula One interest grow in the Middle East and North Africa


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The Covid-19 pandemic last year meant that Formula One and its about 1.9 billion TV viewers needed to find new ways and venues to keep one of the world’s most-watched sports alive – and it was then that the Middle East came to the fore.

The revised 2020 championship salvaged 17 of F1’s initial 21 races, with every race held either in Europe or the Mena region. With that came a wave of new fans, spurred on by the impending arrival of the first Saudi Arabia Grand Prix this December.

Speaking the language

With six potential races in the Mena region, comprising the three Grands Prix in Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Jeddah, two in the wider catchment area of Azerbaijan and Turkey, and speculation of races in Egypt or Morocco, the region surpasses Asia and the Americas as the second biggest behind Europe’s eight races held last year.

The F1 Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit in March 2021. Courtesy Formula One
The F1 Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit in March 2021. Courtesy Formula One

“We need as many touchpoints as possible to entice fans and one way we plan to enhance this is with the introduction of Arabic text across our media platforms,” says F1’s global director of media rights Ian Holmes.

“Even though the region varies enormously, [as] part of our engagement, we need to push more Arabic content … whether that be through TV graphics or across online and social portals.”

Catching them young

Emirati racing driver Amna Al Qubaisi. Karma Gurung / The National
Emirati racing driver Amna Al Qubaisi. Karma Gurung / The National

Holmes says the Mena region has one of F1's youngest demographics and is a prime market to nurture the next generation of fans – those who embrace online and social media platforms to support the traditional outlet of TV.

The F1 management states that F1 was the world’s second fastest-growing sport across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube last year, rising 36 per cent with the inclusion of TikTok, Snapchat and Twitch, while video views jumped 47 per cent to 4.9 billion.

“While the international TV feed will always remain our core product and the move in 2019 to MBC Action has been perfect to place the sport in front of non-core fans, the region also has a very young demographic who engage through mobile devices,” says Holmes.

Enhancing output

Outperforming other major sports in the digital arena, including La Liga, the PGA tour and the Premier League, US sports, such as the NBA, are being monitored by F1 with regards to their online and social media strategies.

“The NFL and the NBA are terrific examples of always pushing the envelope for what they license to their media partners and what they push themselves,” says Holmes.

“While the NBA has over 1,000 games a year, our advantage is the depth of coverage we offer with data analysis and timing information. This is relevant for the avid fan, but also entertains the casual viewer.”

Given the technical nature of motor racing, Holmes says the use of graphics to explain technical details has been key to winning new fans, which will expand with his plans to localise content for the TV package.

“We spend a lot of time thinking about graphics because you don't want to oversimplify something for the avid enthusiast, yet we're also focused on engaging with new fans who appreciate the extra information.

“We're working on Arabic graphics for the feed that goes out to MBC Action and is something we'd like to introduce this year or early next year."

Building bases

As recently as four years ago, F1 didn’t have a digital media department, yet its YouTube channel now has 5.76 million subscribers, while the highlights from the recent Austrian Grand Prix gained 4.2 million YouTube views in two days.

“With online and social media, the Mena region has enormous potential because it's an incredibly important market, being so young. Our Middle East TV coverage goes to 200 million households, which shows the audience base we can build from.”

It’s important we build on this momentum from the younger Middle Eastern fans and drivers because ...[Saudi Arabia] is attracting more interest every month
Ian Holmes

The aim isn’t to cannibalise TV viewership, which the F1 management says increased by its highest margin since 2012 of 9 per cent in 2019, but to discover how platforms can deliver incremental audiences with experiences that connect fans as they switch between platforms.

Of that 9 per cent rise, Mena was the second-largest growth market for F1, the organistaion recorded a 228 per cent rise following its switch to MBC Action and was significantly above the 56 per cent increase in the Netherlands that was spurred on by home-town star Max Verstappen.

Driving ambition

Reema Juffali is Saudi Arabia's first female professional Formula One race car driver.
Reema Juffali is Saudi Arabia's first female professional Formula One race car driver.

F1’s popularity in the Middle East is also starting to pay dividends on the track with young drivers emerging on the European open-wheel racing scene.

Abu Dhabi’s Al Qubaisi sisters Amna and Hamda are competing in European F3 and F4 championships respectively, while Saudi Arabia’s Reema Al Juffali is racing in the British F3 championship, all of which are critical stepping stones to F1.

With races during the day, at night and in the twilight, you instantly know the difference between Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Baku and Jeddah
Ian Holmes

“It’s important that we build on this momentum from the younger Middle Eastern fans and drivers because we've never raced in Saudi Arabia before, but we can see that the region is attracting more interest every month,” says Holmes.

He likens the Mena region to Europe, “in that it's important not to think of it as one place. Each race has a different atmosphere, so it’s like a microcosm of the world championship where we have some events on the streets like Jeddah, some on big, old venues like Baku and some on super-new circuits like Abu Dhabi.

“With races during the day, at night and in the twilight, you also instantly know the difference between Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Baku and Jeddah as they all have unique characteristics.”

The inaugural Saudi Arabia Grand Prix will be held from December 3 to 5, with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix closing the season on December 12

COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)

Date started: August 2021

Founder: Nour Sabri

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace

Size: Two employees

Funding stage: Seed investment

Initial investment: $200,000

Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East) 

What drives subscription retailing?

Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.

The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.

The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.

The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.

UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.

That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.

Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.

The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo

The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
​​​​​​​Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km

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War 2

Director: Ayan Mukerji

Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana

Rating: 2/5

When is VAR used?

Goals

Penalty decisions

Direct red-card incidents

Mistaken identity

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  • Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
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Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

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Dir: The Russo Brothers
Starring: Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Robert Downey Junior, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen
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While you're here
Ain Issa camp:
  • Established in 2016
  • Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
  • Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
  • Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
  • 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
  • NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
  • One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
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  • Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
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Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

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FIXTURES

Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan

The top two teams qualify for the World Cup

Classification matches 
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.

Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place play-off

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

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Company profile

Company name: Nestrom

Started: 2017

Co-founders: Yousef Wadi, Kanaan Manasrah and Shadi Shalabi

Based: Jordan

Sector: Technology

Initial investment: Close to $100,000

Investors: Propeller, 500 Startups, Wamda Capital, Agrimatico, Techstars and some angel investors

Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha

Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar

Director: Neeraj Pandey

Rating: 2.5/5

The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE

Price, base / as tested Dh274,000 (estimate)

Engine 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder

Gearbox  Nine-speed automatic

Power 245hp @ 4,200rpm

Torque 500Nm @ 1,600rpm

Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km

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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League final:

Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports

Sukuk

An Islamic bond structured in a way to generate returns without violating Sharia strictures on prohibition of interest.

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Updated: July 11, 2021, 3:48 AM`