ABU DHABI // Although many will see the Harlequins deal as the brightest flower in Abu Dhabi's rugby garden, the club have been busy planting seeds that will see many others blossom next season, according to the club's chairman.
Richard Harris has been associated with Abu Dhabi's premier rugby club, formerly known as the Bats, for the last six years, where he was captain for two in his playing days and is about to mark his second season in the job as the club's chairman.
Mr Harris was at the helm when the club's main sponsors, Etihad - the Abu Dhabi airline company ? helped set up the Harlequins deal, as they also sponsor the English Guinness Premiership club.
Although he accepts how much the deal has done for the club's profile, Mr Harris believes the deal represents good exposure for the English Guinness Premiership side as well and that the club hope to groom players, including Emiratis, capable of representing the famous English side.
"Yes we're very fortunate to have our name associated with a club as big and as famous as Harlequins," says Harris. "But they're getting something out of the deal too. They're getting a lot of exposure in an area of huge sovereign wealth.
"Our profile is getting bigger and bigger and that's helping us attract a better calibre of player, as well as getting young kids more interested in the game.
"Next season we'll have a few players who've played representative rugby and also a young lad who was with the Saracens (another Guinness Premiership side) academy.
"We're also speaking with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council to try and bring them on board with helping the development of both the club and young Emirati players to get more of them playing the game.
"That's just one of our focuses. We want to see more Emirati players at this club. We know Harlequins have a wealth of talent to choose from in the UK but if this deal develops how we believe it will we hope to produce players who they'll want to take a closer look at.
"We want players and coaches who, should they decide to leave us, be comfortable at the same level at any club they go to."
The first team will be challenging on three fronts next term having won the Arabian Cup last season. More recruits have finally given the team the confidence to field a second string side next season in the Emirates League.
Mr Harris admits the number of players to call upon is a far cry from when he first joined the club with the team sometimes struggling to find enough players for a starting XV.
Etihad will sponsor a host of junior tournaments next season and Harris says he sees the labours of his work to get more players involved at all levels of the game starting to bear fruit.
"When I first joined the club we had no numbers," Mr Harris said. "We literally had to scrape around to find enough people to put a first 15 out, let alone worry about a second team.
"Last year we had 570 registered players and we're hoping to top that this season.
"The future is looking bright for the sport in Abu Dhabi. We've got 350 juniors on the books and 40 coaches dedicated to their development.
"This year we're hoping to see all our hard work over the last few years pay off. All the structures have been put in place for us to succeed this year and beyond. We had a few teams in finals last year but this year we're looking to improve at all age levels and win as many trophies as possible."
Part of Mr Harris' vision of seeing the club go professional by 2013 involves them finding their own home. The Al Ghazal Golf Club has long been home for the municipality side but part of the club's five-year plan will see them welcoming visiting teams to their very own ground.
"They (Al Ghazal) have told us we can build our own clubhouse if we want too," said Mr Harris. "Al Ghazal have been good to us, but we generate a lot of income for them and they need us a bit more.
"But having our own home would be our own income generator. That's something we've got to be looking at by 2013. We've spoken to Zayed Sports City about the possibility of playing our home games there, but we'll have to see what develops," he added.
Although not everyone at the club was happy to see the team lose their traditional Bats name, it is hard to argue against the point that the deal has opened more doors in terms of commercial opportunities with the likes of the insurance firm Nexus and car giant Audi coming on board or increasing their sponsorship deals with the club.
The club chairman wants to see the Abu Dhabi Harlequins model used as a template for the International Rugby Board (IRB) should it prove successful, taking the game to lesser rugby playing nations such as Thailand and other South East Asian countries.
sluckings@thenational.ae
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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
THE TWIN BIO
Their favourite city: Dubai
Their favourite food: Khaleeji
Their favourite past-time : walking on the beach
Their favorite quote: ‘we rise by lifting others’ by Robert Ingersoll
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
More on Yemen's civil war
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
if you go
The flights
Fly to Rome with Etihad (www.etihad.ae) or Emirates (www.emirates.com) from Dh2,480 return including taxes. The flight takes six hours. Fly from Rome to Trapani with Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) from Dh420 return including taxes. The flight takes one hour 10 minutes.
The hotels
The author recommends the following hotels for this itinerary. In Trapani, Ai Lumi (www.ailumi.it); in Marsala, Viacolvento (www.viacolventomarsala.it); and in Marsala Del Vallo, the Meliaresort Dimore Storiche (www.meliaresort.it).
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Floward%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERiyadh%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdulaziz%20Al%20Loughani%20and%20Mohamed%20Al%20Arifi%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EE-commerce%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbout%20%24200%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAljazira%20Capital%2C%20Rainwater%20Partners%2C%20STV%20and%20Impact46%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C200%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Story%20behind%20the%20UAE%20flag
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