Shortly before midnight on Friday, messages will be exchanged across the length of the African continent and, if all goes according to form and reputation in the quarter-finals of the CAF Champions League, promises will be made for a reunion of two friends at next month’s final. Those in contact will be Wessam Abou Ali and Tashreeq Matthews, footballers whose lives have transformed in a few short weeks.
At the end of last year they were both starring in Sweden’s top division, partners in a strong end-of-season run by the middling club Sirius. Matthews, a South African, and Abou Ali, a Palestinian born and raised in Denmark, were both sold in January, in the Swedish close-season, with Sirius’s executives delighted that, even if the club were losing two talented individuals, their market value had risen substantially while there.
Matthews went back to his native South Africa, signed by serial champions and holders of the African League, Mamelodi Sundowns, who host Tanzania’s Young Africans in CAF’s more traditional super-elite competition.
Abou Ali, meanwhile, was offered the number nine jersey at the biggest club in Africa and the Middle East, Egypt’s Al Ahly, who on Friday take a 1-0 advantage into the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Tanzania’s Simba.
Although Abou Ali’s participation in Cairo may be restricted, the 25 year old having only just completed his recovery from a hamstring strain, he has already made an eye-catching start to his Al Ahly adventure. He scored within five minutes of his Egyptian league debut, the first of a brace in the 5-1 win over Baladiyat El Mahalla.
Frustratingly, the injury interrupted that momentum. It also postponed the beginning of his senior international career with Palestine, who had anticipated giving Abou Ali his debut in last month’s World Cup qualifiers.
It should be just a temporary delay and the opportunity for what has been, from the perspective of the Palestine Football Association, a long-awaited first cap for a potentially transformative player should come in June. Palestine, despite the huge obstacles imposed by conflict, are well positioned to make the next phase of qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
The process of integrating Abou Ali into their squad has been drawn out, partly because he needed to register with Fifa a switch of national associations, having represented Denmark – where his parents moved before his birth – at various youth levels internationally. But earlier this year, the required documents were lodged.
“It’s a gift to have this Palestine passport,” he told the ‘Are You Sirius?’ podcast. “I love Denmark, which has given so much to me and family, but I feel so much for Palestine, my family there means so much to me. It would be so nice to give them some happiness and success.”
It would also mark the peak of an unusual journey in the sport, not just because it criss-crosses Europe, the Middle East and Africa, but because Abou Ali’s professional career confronted the most frightening of setbacks in his early 20s.
In September 2021, he was a promising youth international, freshly signed from Silkeborg by Vendsyssel, where he had already made a strong impression on loan. And, very suddenly, he collapsed on the pitch during a match against Lyngby.
Teammates quickly gathered around him and some became gravely concerned when they could not detect a pulse on the unconscious player’s wrist. Abou Ali recalls only regaining consciousness in an ambulance on the way to hospital.
The incident made global headlines, partly because it followed, by only a few weeks, the collapse of Denmark’s Christian Eriksen during a European Championship match in Copenhagen – Eriksen made a full recovery and now plays for Manchester United – and, as Abou Ali acknowledges, it became, to the wider sporting public, the defining moment of his then short career.
To a young man making his way in the game, it was confusing and alarming. He moved back home, to Aalborg, to be surrounded by his immediate family. He was fitted with a heart monitor. His return to practice and to his profession would be gradual.
Although his physical recovery went relatively smoothly, it then hit another obstacle as soon as Abou Ali had the all-clear to compete again. During a Vendsyssel training camp in Turkey, he was chasing a long ball and collided with the opposition goalkeeper heavily. He broke six ribs and punctured a lung. He found himself back in hospital and, as he later acknowledged, he considered giving up football altogether.
When he looks back on that low period, he thanks the staff of Vendsyssel, of Denmark’s second tier, for their support, particularly his head coach there, Henrik Pedersen. “I thought I needed to stop, I was emotional. But it taught me how to appreciate every single moment of life, and changed me as a person.”
And as a player, judging on how Abou Ali has developed as a striker in the past two years. After his rehabilitation and return to league action with Vendsyssel, Abou Ali soared. He finished the regular 2022/23 season scoring at a rate of a goal every two games. It meant Sirius, a club with a strong reputation for their expert talent-spotting, upped an interest they had held in him for some time, and they offered top-flight football.
He joined them mid-season, the club precariously positioned in Sweden’s Allsvenskan table. His impact would be instant. As at Al Ahly, there would be a goal on his first outing in new colours. And a dedicated song in Abou Ali’s honour composed and belted out by fans of Sirius by the end of his debut.
He would hear it often. In 16 matches for Sirius, he scored 10 goals, guiding his new club to comfortable survival in their division and forming an effective partnership with Matthews, the South African on Sirius’s left-wing. Their time as teammates would turn out to be short, half a season, but the friendship looks a lasting one. “A special bond,” Abou Ali says of Matthews, now a rival for Africa’s biggest club prize.
When Sirius accepted Al Ahly’s offer for Abou Ali, they set a new club record for a single transfer fee received. The buyers were convinced his pace, his assured finishing, a growing effectiveness meeting high crosses and his industry off the ball will be long-term assets. And he will be flying the flag of Palestine at the best supported club across the Mena region.
England squad
Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Dominic Bess, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes, Lewis Gregory, Keaton Jennings, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Amar Virdi, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
MO
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Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Esperance de Tunis 0
Al Ain 3 (Ahmed 02’, El Shahat 17’, Al Ahbabi 60’)
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS
England v New Zealand
(Saturday, 12pm UAE)
Wales v South Africa
(Sunday, 12pm, UAE)
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m
Winner: Arjan, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer).
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: Jap Nazaa, Royston Ffrench, Irfan Ellahi.
6pm: Al Ruwais Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 1,200m
Winner: RB Lam Tara, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinal.
6.30pm: Shadwell Gold Cup Prestige Dh125,000 1,600m
Winner: AF Sanad, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi.
7pm: Shadwell Farm Stallions Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Patrick Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
7.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: Dubai Canal, Harry Bentley, Satish Seemar.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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
Score
New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs
New Zealand win by 47 runs
New Zealand lead three-match ODI series 1-0
Next match: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, Friday
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Kevin Hart
3/5 stars
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Landfill in numbers
• Landfill gas is composed of 50 per cent methane
• Methane is 28 times more harmful than Co2 in terms of global warming
• 11 million total tonnes of waste are being generated annually in Abu Dhabi
• 18,000 tonnes per year of hazardous and medical waste is produced in Abu Dhabi emirate per year
• 20,000 litres of cooking oil produced in Abu Dhabi’s cafeterias and restaurants every day is thrown away
• 50 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s waste is from construction and demolition
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company info
Company name: Entrupy
Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist
Based: New York, New York
Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.
Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.
Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place.
Results
4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Emblem Storm, Oisin Murphy (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Wildman Jack, Fernando Jara, Doug O’Neill.
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Barney Roy, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Matterhorn, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.30pm: Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m; Winner: Loxley, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby.
MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 1', Kane 8' & 16') West Ham United 3 (Balbuena 82', Sanchez og 85', Lanzini 90' 4)
Man of the match Harry Kane
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELeap%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ziad%20Toqan%20and%20Jamil%20Khammu%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULTS: 2018 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING - EUROPE
Albania 0 Italy 1
Finland 2 Turkey 2
Macedonia 4 Liechtenstein
Iceland 2 Kosovo 0
Israel 0 Spain 1
Moldova 0 Austria 1
Serbia 1 Georgia 0
Ukraine 0 Croatia 2
Wales 0 Ireland 1
