The revamped and expanded Fifa Club World Cup may be the biggest chance yet for domestic teams to represent themselves on the global stage.
But there will be plenty of national and regional pride at stake, too. Some of the leading players from the Mena region will be vying for attention at the competition in the United States, and they are not solely confined to Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal or the UAE’s Al Ain.
Here is a selection of outstanding players from the region to look out for this summer.
1). Achraf Hakimi
Club: Paris Saint-Germain
National team: Morocco
Slotted the opening goal in PSG’s rout of Inter Milan in the Uefa Champions League final, and was eulogised by many observers as the best right-back in the world.
Given’s PSG’s form, he might expect to go one better than the semi-final exit he managed with the Morocco national team in the Qatar World Cup.
2). Omar Marmoush
Club: Manchester City
National team: Egypt
Scored 15 goals in 17 games in the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt before being summoned to City in the January transfer window to try to breathe life into their ailing season.
The form of the outgoing English champions did pick up after the arrival of their new Egyptian forward. They may have ended defeated in the FA Cup, but they could make up for that with a trophy in the US.
3). Ali Al Bulayhi
Club: Al Hilal
National team: Saudi Arabia
Makes this list not so much for the merit of his defending as the fact his confrontations with star opponents are usually box office.
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Son Hueng-min have all been on the receiving end of the Hilal centre-back’s antics. Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Erling Haaland had better be ready.
4). Soufiane Rahimi
Club: Al Ain
National team: Morocco
Asia’s MVP when he fired Al Ain to the AFC Champions League crown in 2024, and he then top-scored in the Olympics for Morocco, too.
The Garden City club have fallen flat in the time since, going through three managers this season. Rahimi’s form has coolled, too, but expect him to revel on the big stage in the US.
5). Mehdi Taremi
Club: Inter Milan
National team: Iran
Cut a disconsolate figure as an unused substitute on the bench in Inter Milan’s capitulation against PSG in the Uefa Champions League final.
The striker, who has been central to Iran’s march to World Cup qualification, will be itching to right some wrongs when Inter face Monterrey, Urawa Reds and River Plate.
6). Ramy Bensebaini
Club: Borussia Dortmund
National team: Algeria
The Algerian defender has been deployed on the left side of a three-man defence as Dortmund closed out a largely disappointing season strongly, most notably with a big win away at Bayer Leverkusen.
He might not be everybody’s cup of tea: German great-turned-pundit Lothar Matthaus has been one outspoken critic. But Bensebaini is valued by his club and is said to have suitors that include Marseille.
7). Brahim Diaz
Club: Real Madrid
National team: Morocco
The dual-national winger was born in Malaga, signed for the Manchester City academy age 16, and plays for Morocco at international level.
He will be looking to aid Madrid’s bid to complete a Club World Cup and Intercontinental Cup double.
8). Salem Al Dawsari
Club: Al Hilal
National team: Saudi Arabia
An Arabian Gulf great, as a legend of Hilal and the Saudi Arabia national team. His finest moment was his goal in their shock win over the eventual champions Argentina in the group phase of the Qatar World Cup.
His celebrity has yet to extend too far beyond Asia, though. His one crack at broadening his horizons ended prematurely with an ill-fated loan spell with Villarreal in Spain in 2018.
9). Wessam Abou Ali
Club: Al Ahly
National team: Palestine
Danish-born but proudly Palestinian, he also acknowledges he feels Egyptian now, given how well loved he has become since joining Al Ahly last year.
The striker enjoyed an extraordinary 2024, moving from the Swedish lower leagues in January, then becoming the top scorer in Egypt, and contributing to the CAF Champions League win, which qualified Ahly for this tournament.
10). Oussama Idrissi
Club: Pachuca
National team: Morocco
Netherlands-born and raised, but the tricky left-winger had had a good look around since. He represents Morocco at senior level – having previously played for the Dutch age-group sides – and has found his way to Mexico via Spain.
He knows what success tastes like in cross-border club competition, too. Idrissi scored a fine goal as Pachuca beat Brazil’s Botafogo to reach the 2024 Intercontinental Cup final, where they lost to Real Madrid.
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
More coverage from the Future Forum
The specs
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Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
'Joker'
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix
Rating: Five out of five stars
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes.
Where to stay
The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.
INDIA V SOUTH AFRICA
First Test: October 2-6, at Visakhapatnam
Second Test: October 10-14, at Maharashtra
Third Test: October 19-23, at Ranchi
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Studying addiction
This month, Dubai Medical College launched the Middle East’s first master's programme in addiction science.
Together with the Erada Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation, the college offers a two-year master’s course as well as a one-year diploma in the same subject.
The move was announced earlier this year and is part of a new drive to combat drug abuse and increase the region’s capacity for treating drug addiction.
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
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THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
RESULT
Al Hilal 4 Persepolis 0
Khribin (31', 54', 89'), Al Shahrani 40'
Red card: Otayf (Al Hilal, 49')
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
How to volunteer
The UAE volunteers campaign can be reached at www.volunteers.ae , or by calling 800-VOLAE (80086523), or emailing info@volunteers.ae.
Top tips
Create and maintain a strong bond between yourself and your child, through sensitivity, responsiveness, touch, talk and play. “The bond you have with your kids is the blueprint for the relationships they will have later on in life,” says Dr Sarah Rasmi, a psychologist.
Set a good example. Practise what you preach, so if you want to raise kind children, they need to see you being kind and hear you explaining to them what kindness is. So, “narrate your behaviour”.
Praise the positive rather than focusing on the negative. Catch them when they’re being good and acknowledge it.
Show empathy towards your child’s needs as well as your own. Take care of yourself so that you can be calm, loving and respectful, rather than angry and frustrated.
Be open to communication, goal-setting and problem-solving, says Dr Thoraiya Kanafani. “It is important to recognise that there is a fine line between positive parenting and becoming parents who overanalyse their children and provide more emotional context than what is in the child’s emotional development to understand.”
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
