ABU DHABI // At 9pm this Thursday night, history will be made in the capital as Brazil, the five-times football World Cup winners, play Iran in a friendly match.
The game will be held at Zayed Sports City, not the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium as previously announced. Tickets are already on sale on the Time Out Abu Dhabi website, for Dh70 for the lower tiers of the stadium, Dh130 for the upper tiers and Dh350 for the VIP seats.
The gates will open at 6pm, but the game is expected to kick off at 9pm. "I bought tickets for my entire family," said Reza Handjani, 43, an Iranian who works as an industrial engineer in Dubai. "Five tickets, for my wife and myself and my three children. We are going to drive to Abu Dhabi to watch the game; there is no way we are going to miss it." Part of the excitement is down to the fact that the two sides have never faced each other on the field, Mr Handjani said.
The other part, he said, is for his home country's team to be facing a great team like Brazil. Football giants Daniel Alves, Thiago Silva and Alexandre Pato, as well as Robinho and Adriano, will be included in the 23-man Brazilian team. Kaka, reportedly injured and unable to take part on Brazil's world tour this year, will not be present. It will be the second time the Brazilian team has played in the UAE. In 2005, they beat the UAE side 8-0.
hkhalaf@thenational.ae
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
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding
Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.
Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.
Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.
For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae