The first international rugby fixture between UAE and Israel will be followed by a game between scratch sides made up of a mixture of Emirati and Israeli players.
Israel will arrive this week for what the two unions are terming a “friendship tour”, ahead of a programme of seven-a-side matches at Dubai Sports City on Friday, March 19.
The all-Emirati UAE side will play against Israel’s national Olympic sevens team in four-quarters of a game in rugby’s abridged format.
The players will then be mixed into two new teams, to be known as Israel-UAE Blue and Israel-UAE White, for three more segments of matches.
Mohammed Al Zaabi, a UAE Rugby Federation board member, says the matches have been arranged to reflect the normalisation of ties between the countries since last August.
He says the series will show “sport reinforces its important role in the historic Abraham Accords peace agreement between the two countries”, and hopes it can help improve rugby in UAE and Israel.
“We hope very soon to do our part with such a visit to Israel, and can give our women’s team the opportunity to play a match against Israel in Tel Aviv,” Al Zaabi said.
“For our future vision, we are eager to grow this relationship with the Israeli federation and the national teams there, to share expertise between all the teams. We hope it will improve both our levels.”
Offer Fabian, the president of the Israel rugby union, says the travelling contingent are looking forward to making history.
“We will be the first national team to benefit from the Abraham Accords, and I can think of no sport better to serve the purpose of bringing our countries together than rugby,” Fabian said during a Zoom press conference organised by the two federations.
“It is a sport where aggressive competitiveness is matched by sportsmanship and camaraderie on and off the pitch.
“I would like to thank our friends in the United Arab Emirates for being our friends and making this happen. I look forward to making history.”
Apollo Perelini, the UAE coach, has proposed naming the cup that the sides will play for the Abraham Accords Challenge Trophy, and wants it to become an annual fixture.
The former Samoa international has been preparing his players since January, with the domestic game – in a modified form in response to Covid safety precautions – having returned in recent weeks.
The UAE side toured Egypt for the Arab Sevens last month, and Perelini said his players are eager to return to the field for this encounter.
“We want to bring the two countries together with the true rugby values of solidarity and respect,” Perelini said.
“It is exciting and I know my players are looking forward to it.”
Kevin Musikanth, Israel’s coach, echoed his opposite number’s sentiments.
“When I reached out to Apollo, he was hugely favourable to the idea of a friendship tour,” Musikanth said.
“After months and months of Zooms, we are two days away [from travelling to Dubai]. We want to make something really special happen playing the great sport of rugby.”
The matches will be livestreamed on the UAE Rugby Federation’s Facebook page.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
ELIO
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Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
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Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
More on Quran memorisation:
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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