World Cup winner and Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta was among the record crowd as Manchester City hosted their biggest ever Abu Dhabi Cup at the weekend.
Iniesta was joined by more than 6,000 spectators across two days of action at Zayed Sports City in the UAE capital, where around 2,500 players from 22 nations made the 2025 staging of the tournament the most ambitious to date.
A total of 180 teams played nearly 650 games, including 61 sides from outside the UAE, travelling from as far and wide as Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Russia, Belarus and Turkmenistan.
“The feeling is very good, amazing facilities,” said Iniesta, who retired last year after spending the final season of his illustrious career in the Adnoc Pro League with Emirates Club. “We are here to enjoy the football [and have had an] amazing time.”
Boys’ categories ranged from U8 through to U16s, while more than 30 girls’ teams competed from U13 to U17 level. A total of 1,521 goals were scored during the two days.
Hosts Manchester City flew academy sides over from the UK, while UAE clubs Al Jazira, Baniyas, Al Wahda and Al Ain were all represented.
The winners of the cup competition from each age group were entered into a special prize draw, with Al Seeb from Oman (U14 boys) winning a trip to visit and train at the Etihad Campus in Manchester – and watch a Manchester City first-team game live.
U12 Plate winners GR7 Academy won a coaching clinic from Manchester City coaches, who will travel to work with the team in their home country of Oman.
Former City player Nedum Onuoha doubled up as an ambassador for the tournament and as a guest coach for the City Football School’s boys' U14 team.
He said: “The Manchester City Abu Dhabi Cup was a fantastic experience and it was great to see so many players from around the world take to the pitch and play the beautiful game with smiles on their faces. I was really impressed with the action I saw and hopefully this tournament cannot only further inspire the players to develop themselves but also allow other players to take up the sport and play the game in the future.”
Simon Hewitt, Director of Football Operations MENA for City Football Group, said: “The 2025 edition of the Manchester City Abu Dhabi Cup has been a record breaker. Since its inception in 2017 we have seen phenomenal growth in the tournament, and to welcome more than 60 international teams to Abu Dhabi, and 180 teams overall, is testament to the impact this competition has on a global scale.
“Seeing all the boys and girls having fun this weekend was a joy, and the level of football on display was exceptional. We thank all the players, teams, coaches, parents, and supporters, for making this a very special two days.”
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Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
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EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
Teams
India (playing XI): Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami
South Africa (squad): Faf du Plessis (c), Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, Dean Elgar, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rudi Second
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UAE%20Warriors%2033%20Results
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Sunday:
GP3 race: 12:10pm
Formula 2 race: 1:35pm
Formula 1 race: 5:10pm
Performance: Guns N' Roses
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
Turning%20waste%20into%20fuel
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German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
