The European Football Championship is now under way across 11 cities. The matches are being played amid the jeopardy of the Covid-19 pandemic, but they have been influenced just as much by a crisis that gripped the continent more than a decade ago.
Spiralling European sovereign debt levels in 2008, triggered by the shock of the global financial crisis, resulted in some €750 billion (almost $910bn) being required by nations in assistance. Interestingly, that is the same figure that has been discussed more recently for Europe's post-Covid recovery plan.
That turbulent period more than 10 years ago was perhaps the first serious challenge to globalisation and the integration of economies that had helped spur new generations to wealth across the world, in particular in Asia.
Lowering barriers to trade and investment had supported economic growth, but it had also created systemic risk at an unprecedented scale. When the sub-prime mortgage crisis hit in the US, it triggered the equivalent of a financial tsunami that swept the globe. In such a scenario, the argument for spending billions to host a sporting event became distinctly less compelling.
Michel Platini, then president of Uefa, the European football association, understood this when he was trying to secure host countries for future tournaments. He came up with what he himself described as a "zany" solution. Rather than find one host for the 2020 tournament, Uefa would explore having multiple venues, up to 13 in fact. In effect, Platini was doubling down on the principles of globalisation, even as its very foundations were being tested and found wanting.
Two years ago, still defending his strategy, he reportedly said that “football does not exist only in France, in England or in Italy, it must exist everywhere”. That is a mantra for a globalist, if there ever was one. You could imagine the same words being said by the chief executive of any corporation in the world with ambitions to be in every market.
Such ambitions seemed achievable about 15 years ago, desirable even, given the benefits of lowering costs and lifting levels of quality. Today, successive crises, including the pandemic, have shown us that it might not be healthy to be in too many places. Ultimately, it may not even be that profitable.
Allowing homogeneity to spread unchecked undermines the in-built resilience and sustainability that can be found in local supply chains.
The Stadio Olimpico in Rome will host the first match of Euro 2020. Getty
Baku's Olympic Stadium. Getty
The St Petersburg Stadium is another venue for Euro 2020. Getty
The Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark. EPA
The Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Getty
The National Arena stadium in Bucharest. AFP
Wembley Stadium in London will host the semi-finals and the final of Euro 2020. AFP
Hampden Park in Glasgow. AFP
Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla in Spain. Reuters
The Allianz Arena, Munich. Reuters
The Puskas Arena n Budapest, Hungary. Reuters
Then Uefa president Michel Platini with the European Championship trophy in 2014. PA Wire
At the heart of Platini’s sales pitch was the argument that spreading Euro 2020’s 51 games in 31 days all over the continent – from Glasgow to Baku, Rome and Saint Petersburg – would make it easier for countries to come up with the funds required to be part of a showpiece that would draw a global audience. “Why should one or two host countries be obliged to build 10 stadiums, airports, et cetera? Here, there’ll be one stadium per country, per city, across Europe. It would be a lot simpler and cheaper," AFP reported Platini as saying in December 2012.
One former Fifa official observed at the time, however: "This is not what’s best for the tournament. It’s a choice imposed by the economic situation."
It was also formulated in an era when the EU had expanded to include 27 member states and there had been a boom in global air travel. It may have seemed ideal circumstances for a championship to be held on an unprecedented geographical scale. "In these days of cheap travel, anything is possible," Platini pointedly said in June 2012.
His successor as Uefa president, Aleksander Ceferin, inherited Platini's legacy. But he told The New York Times in May that he would not support a similar format again. It was complicated to pull off even before the pandemic hit, he said.
Also, Uefa is projecting that its earnings from the tournament will be at least €300 million less than forecast with fewer fans able to attend. Spreading the financial burden of hosting the tournament also spreads the risk – should something not go as planned. This is the inherent weakness of globalisation: it only works well when things are going well.
A woman protests outside the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games HQ to demand the cancellation of the event. Reuters
The risk from pandemics makes the traditional scale of sporting occasions obsolete
Of course, there is no reason to suggest having a single host country for Euro 2020 would have been a better solution – the debate raging in Japan over the Olympics taking place in Tokyo next month is instructive. Rather, it is worth examining if the era of global sporting events, as we have known them, is drawing to a close.
The risk from pandemics, as well as a wider acknowledgment that we must find more sustainable solutions for society, makes the traditional scale of these sporting occasions – as wonderful as they usually prove to be – obsolete.
It will be difficult for Uefa and other organisations that run their respective sports to chart a different path. But for the sake of future spectacles and the compelling drama of competition, we need to place more emphasis on staging local rather than global competitions.
Perhaps rethinking how we manage sport might also offer some much-needed productive thoughts on how to make sure that, in this post-pandemic era of globalisation, as many people as possible feel like winners.
Mustafa Alrawi is an assistant editor-in-chief at The National
Name: Thndr Started: 2019 Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr Sector: FinTech Headquarters: Egypt UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi Current number of staff: More than 150 Funds raised: $22 million
Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
Favourite quote: "No one has ever become poor by giving"
Sole survivors
Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
Grade 9 = above an A*
Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
Grade 7 = grade A
Grade 6 = just above a grade B
Grade 5 = between grades B and C
Grade 4 = grade C
Grade 3 = between grades D and E
Grade 2 = between grades E and F
Grade 1 = between grades F and G
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Fixture: Liechtenstein v Italy, Tuesday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match is shown on BeIN Sports
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples. Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts. Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
West Ham 2-3 Tottenham
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton
Bournemouth 1-2 Wolves
Brighton 0-2 Leicester City
Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool
Everton 0-2 Norwich City
Watford 0-3 Burnley
Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.
The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.
It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.
The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.
Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
Medicus AI
Started: 2016
Founder(s): Dr Baher Al Hakim, Dr Nadine Nehme and Makram Saleh
Based: Vienna, Austria; started in Dubai
Sector: Health Tech
Staff: 119
Funding: €7.7 million (Dh31m)
Red flags
Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
David Haye record
Total fights: 32 Wins: 28 Wins by KO: 26 Losses: 4
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah 5.10pm: Continous 5.45pm: Raging Torrent 6.20pm: West Acre 7pm: Flood Zone 7.40pm: Straight No Chaser 8.15pm: Romantic Warrior 8.50pm: Calandogan 9.30pm: Forever Young
