DUBAI // The UAE Rugby Federation say the progress of female rugby in the country is “a dream come true,” ahead of a landmark week for the sport here.
For the first time, a team exclusively made of Emirati girls will represent the country in rugby.
The Under 18 girls play a competition also involving Hong Kong, India, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan at Dubai Sports City, starting on Wednesday.
Ahead of the competition, the team trained with the New Zealand women’s side in Dubai over the weekend.
More on Dubai Rugby Sevens:
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• Sophie Shams shrugs off cold to make long-awaited senior rugby debut
• Thinus Delport returns for J9 Legends to support 'hero' Joost van der Westhuizen
In addition, Sophie Shams, a 17-year-old Emirati schoolgirl, will be playing senior rugby at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the Gulf Women's tournament for the first time.
There is also greater participation than ever before in the female competitions at The Sevens. Twelve teams will compete in the Gulf Women’s, and six in the Under 19 Girls.
“This tournament is a dream come true for UAE Rugby,” Qais Al Dhalai, the secretary general of the federation, said of the U18s event.
“We are incredibly proud to be fielding an all-Emirati girls sevens team, and we are very excited with the possibilities that lay ahead.”
UAE Rugby have plans to have a ratio of 60 per cent male, 40 per cent female rugby players within the next five years.
According to Fawzia Mohammed Faridoon, the manager of Cultural Activities in the Women Sports Department at Dubai Sports Council and a UAE Rugby board member, the federation’s focus will increasingly be on female rugby.
“UAE Rugby is very committed to the Olympic value of gender inclusion,” Faridoon said.
“We have set a very ambitious goal to have a ratio of 40 per cent female players against 60 per cent male players within the next five years.”
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Remaining Fixtures
Wednesday: West Indies v Scotland
Thursday: UAE v Zimbabwe
Friday: Afghanistan v Ireland
Sunday: Final
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
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Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
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Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
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In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
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Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
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