Egyptian champions Al Ahly have arrived in Abu Dhabi to begin preparations for the Fifa Club World Cup.
The African powerhouses, who qualified for the tournament by winning the 2020/21 African Champions League, landed in the capital on Monday night ahead of Saturday's second-round match against Mexico’s Monterrey.
Ahly will be making their seventh appearance at the Club World Cup — the second most in the history of the tournament. Their best result to this point was achieved in 2006 and 2020, when they finished third.
Two years ago, Ahly were beaten in the semi-finals by eventual winners Bayern Munich, although they did go on to seal third place with a play-off victory against Brazil’s Palmeiras. Until now, no African side has won the Club World Cup.
Ahly, record 42-time Egyptian champions, have begun their domestic campaign well and sit top of the Egyptian Premier League on goal difference after seven matches.
Should Pitso Mosimane's men get past CONCACAF Champions League winners Monterrey at Al Nahyan Stadium this weekend, they will meet Palmeiras, the Copa Libertadores champions, in the semi-final on February 8.
Meanwhile, Monterrey touched down in the UAE on Sunday as they get set to contest the Club World Cup for a fifth time. They finished third in 2012 and 2019.
“We feel very good, very motivated to come to do a great work,” Monterrey right-back Edson Gutierrez said. “We come for the dream to get the championship and we will do everything possible to fulfil this dream.”
The Club World Cup kicks off on Thursday when host representatives Al Jazira take on Tahiti’s AS Pirae at the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium. The tournament, which also features European champions Chelsea and reigning Asian Champions League holders Al Hilal, runs until February 12.
Abu Dhabi plays host to the Club World Cup for the fifth time following successful editions in 2009, 2010, 2017 and 2018.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World by Michael Ignatieff
Harvard University Press
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
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
