ABU DHABI // The chief executive of the Rugby Association has declared the new coach of the national team will be appointed on a full-time basis and the prospective candidate could be recruited from one of the sides at the Rugby World Cup.
Video: UAE Pro League dissolved
Last Updated: June 21, 2011 UAE
Football editor Tom Woods speaks to Inside The National's Matt Sansom about the confusion since the announcement that the UAE Pro League has been dissolved.
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The UAE are without a coach after Bruce Birtwistle announced last month he will return to New Zealand after two years in charge of the Arabian Gulf and then the newly formed UAE side.
Ian Bremner, the chief executive, has received plenty of global interest in the position but plans to formally advertise the vacancy which he describes as "very important to our progress".
Chester Williams, the former South Africa international and ex-coach of the Springbok sevens team, and Apollo Perelini, the coach of Dubai Wasps, have both been linked with the job, which will be significantly upgraded from part-time coach to full-time performance manager.
Asked when he hoped to make an appointment, Bremner said: "Ideally tomorrow but we must be realistic in this process and do our due diligence.
"We will advertise globally and the candidate must clearly have 15s and sevens experience.
"They have got to be able to develop the game here, build up performance and develop pathways.
"We've not got an Under 18, U20 or A squad feeding into adult population."
A raft of southern hemisphere Super 15 players will end their contracts with their home unions after the World Cup in October and head to Europe, particularly France, for inflated salaries and to broaden their horizons.
Bremner hopes the end of the four-year World Cup cycle could also herald the availability of several coaches seeking a fresh challenge.
"A number of contracts will come to an end before or after the World Cup and that should present a number of high-quality candidates," Bremner said.
"It is a very important appointment for our progression and a smashing opportunity for the right candidate. It's a chance to make a difference."
Bremner felt Birtwistle performed "a fantastic job" in establishing the UAE as a respected side in Asian rugby and guiding them to
third place in this year's Asian Five Nations.
"The Asian Five Nations was a very valuable experience for us," Bremner said.
"But had we had our time again, we would do things a lot differently.
"We would start much earlier in terms of planning and playing. We need to have a detailed look at how we prepared and look at starting before Christmas instead of after.
"We need more time in the gym as it was a testing experience for a lot of our players.
"We also need to work on marketing and promoting the game. We hardly scratched the surface on that front.
"We need to mobilise the rugby and non-rugby-playing public."
Bremner will hope to tap into the crowds of 50,000 per day who are attracted to the annual Dubai Sevens.
The event falls under the umbrella of Emirates Airline, and Bremner revealed the Rugby Association will petition the International Rugby Broad (IRB) to seek more involvement in their home event.
"We are in discussions with the IRB on how we can contribute to that event," Bremner said.
"They are assessing the capability of what part we can play but we would like to contribute."
Bremner also hopes the UAE can assume the place of the disbanded Arabian Gulf at the event. "The IRB are assessing that. Are we good enough.
"The last thing we want with new sponsors and a new organisation is to get beat by 100 points in 14 minutes. How to prove our capability to participate in this year's event."
kaffleck@thenational.ae
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Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
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The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
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Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
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