David Beckham is aiming to bring the world’s top players to Miami after taking up the option to buy a new Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise but key details about the project are still unconfirmed.
The former England and Manchester United midfielder said he planned to make the new team a globally-recognised club though the home stadium, start date and name of the club are still not known.
Beckham told a news conference in Miami: “We are going to make a soccer club that is going to be loved by millions of people – we plan on bringing a team that is not just for Miami but is a global team.
“We will want to bring in some of the best players in football to play in this team – I have seen what happens to a team when you bring great players in.
“We want the best. Fortunately, I have played with some of the greatest players in the world, and these players have been sending me messages and calling me up and saying ‘Miami, great – when can we get there’.”
Beckham’s group is now in talks with Miami local government officials about building a stadium for the new club, but he insisted no public money would be needed.
He said: “We don’t want public money, we will fund the stadium ourselves, it is something that we have worked very hard on.
“Nothing successful in life is easy, there are going to be bumps along the way and you have to go through certain tough times to come out at the end being successful.
“We are going to have the right investors, and I’m not just talking about wealth but people who have a passion for the game as well.”
Beckham said he would not be making an approaches to his former manager at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, to coach his team.
He added: “He is a great manager and gave me the chance to play for my boyhood dream club, but unfortunately he has retired so we won’t pull him out of retirement, I think he is enjoying that.”
Beckham was given an option to acquire an MLS franchise at a discounted rate of USD$25million (Dh91.8m) when he first joined Los Angeles Galaxy.
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
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Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
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COMPANY PROFILE
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
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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
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Specs
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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The specs
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Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
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Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.