The opening day of any sporting season drums up a cauldron of emotions, objectives and a hint of entering into the unknown.
The start of this year's Arabian Gulf Premiership is no different.
This is not a league containing a mix of players who bring distinct styles from around the world, providing the spectator with an exciting brand of quick-tempo rugby with the emphasis based on skill and swift handling.
Unlike many leagues around the world it is hard to spot the major powerhouses from the eight closely-matched top-flight clubs, four of which are from the Emirates, and each will tell you that they have a chance to claim some silverware come March.
The intrigue lies within how each club musters a team together mostly on the basis of expatriate players. Being amateurs, or at most mildly semi-professional, the league relies on the influx of expatriate workers to provide the backbone of the squad.
The economic downturn, which has seen players head home, has been a disruptive factor for each club.
The situation could be compounded over the next few seasons.
This factor can provide a great leveller, but for Abu Dhabi Harlequins, the Premiership champions, the recession has not halted their march for more glory as they bid for an ambitious league and cup double this term.
"There has not been that many comings and goings at the Quins," says the head coach Alistair Thompson.
"We have been lucky to keep hold of the mainstays of the team and no one has had to leave because of the economic climate.
"This is a sport that holds strong ties to the expatriate community and with that it comes firmly with the territory.
"It has hit the Dubai teams a little harder than in Abu Dhabi. Speaking to fellow players, some have left but they have been replaced by newer players.
"Whether they are left weakened is a different proposition.
"On the other hand a real quality player could become available in the region. It is a lottery."
The recent success has been a reversal of fortunes for Abu Dhabi, who were the perennial whipping boys of the region as little as three years ago.
With 45 senior players at the club, backed with a junior section as well as a women's team, the club has the foundations to become a force in the Gulf, according to the Harlequins captain Dave Stolzenberg.
"Our goal this season is to win both the league and cup," he says.
"When I joined three years ago, we won nothing.
"But having won the cup two years ago and the league last year, it is our quest to win both."
Stolzenberg believes the league can only improve if the quality exiled players put down roots in the region.
"We have 'A' grade players that have come here and help us be successful, but we also have players that have never played before," he says.
"I think the standard of the league can improve by players staying a little longer to help develop the sport and develop new players.
"With the continued development of Abu Dhabi, I would hope that there will be two clubs here in a few years time.
"The more rugby played in the Gulf the better, not only for competition but for the development of rugby in the region."
While the Quins have not suffered from an exodus, their status as champions hands the incentive to their rivals as the team to beat.
The club is not taking the challenge lightly, starting their pre-season a month earlier than their rivals.
Thompson expects a title challenge to come from the majority of the opposition.
"This will be a very interesting season. Six of the eight teams will be seriously thinking that they can win the Gulf Premiership, the three Dubai sides certainly do," he says.
"Since winning the league last year, each side will be gunning for us and I feel we are the team to beat."
"The team has prepared very well and I was happy with what I saw at the Al Ain tournament and the match conditioning our players put in up there."
The Quins kick off their campaign against the Dubai Hurricanes in the opening round of the Arabian Cup today, a fixture that has added spice following Abu Dhabi's league triumph last season in their 23-23 draw with the Hurricanes.
"They will definitely be out for some revenge.
"But the cup is a competition we desperately want to win back having lost in the semi-finals last year," says Thompson.
"A win would be the perfect start to the season and will help us gather momentum for the start of our league defence."
Elsewhere today, Bahrain will host Doha in a 5pm kick-off, Muscat make the trip to the Dubai Exiles at the same time while the Kuwait Nomads host the Dubai Dragons in a 7pm kick-off.
snelmes@thenational.ae
Visit www.thenational.ae/sport for a video on the Quins' pre-season preparations
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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F1 2020 calendar
March 15 - Australia, Melbourne; March 22 - Bahrain, Sakhir; April 5 - Vietnam, Hanoi; April 19 - China, Shanghai; May 3 - Netherlands, Zandvoort; May 20 - Spain, Barcelona; May 24 - Monaco, Monaco; June 7 - Azerbaijan, Baku; June 14 - Canada, Montreal; June 28 - France, Le Castellet; July 5 - Austria, Spielberg; July 19 - Great Britain, Silverstone; August 2 - Hungary, Budapest; August 30 - Belgium, Spa; September 6 - Italy, Monza; September 20 - Singapore, Singapore; September 27 - Russia, Sochi; October 11 - Japan, Suzuka; October 25 - United States, Austin; November 1 - Mexico City, Mexico City; November 15 - Brazil, Sao Paulo; November 29 - Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
No%20Windmills%20in%20Basra
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Diaa%20Jubaili%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20180%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPublisher%3A%20Deep%20Vellum%20Publishing%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
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.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
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.”
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.”
Top 10 most polluted cities
- Bhiwadi, India
- Ghaziabad, India
- Hotan, China
- Delhi, India
- Jaunpur, India
- Faisalabad, Pakistan
- Noida, India
- Bahawalpur, Pakistan
- Peshawar, Pakistan
- Bagpat, India
Teenage%20Mutant%20Ninja%20Turtles%3A%20Shredder's%20Revenge
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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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
