DUBAI // Chris Vallender, the national coach of the Emirates Golf Federation, has challenged the UAE's amateur stars to live up to their potential in this year's Nomura Cup.
Qualification for the second biggest tournament in amateur golf, after the Eisenhower Cup, takes place at Yas Links from Thursday to Saturday where the make-up of a four-man team will be decided for the event to be held in Fiji in August.
Vallender believes it is now time for these talented players to prove themselves on foreign shores and feels that a top-10 finish is a realistic target.
A possible 23 teams will take part in the tournament that falls under the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation of which the UAE is a member.
Up until now, the all-Emirati team gets to this biannual tournament with justifiable high expectations, only to fall well short of their standards. Vallender said things have to change this year.
Vallender said: "We are not at the level of the New Zealand or Australian players just yet for example, but we should be capable of finishing in the top 10, even has high as eighth. But we have never done as well as we would have liked to in the Nomura Cup.
"We seem to finish fourth and fifth bottom every time and we are much, much better than that.
"I'm looking for a real step-up in terms of position. However, if the guys can just find a further 50 per cent of their current form, something they are more than capable of, I am confident we can do really well.
"I honestly believe they can make that big jump, from bottom four to top eight, but only if they play to their potential. It's not as if the guys just aren't good enough."
Three rounds of golf this week from an estimated field of 11 players will decide the team, which, in all likelihood, will include Khalid Yousuf, brothers Ahmed and Abdalla al Musharrekh plus one other.
All are good players on their familiar courses on which they practice all the time, but they need to adjust more quickly to conditions outside the UAE.
This is not unusual in golf. There are some American players who would not dream of leaving their own country to play abroad because of the different set-ups which can trip up even PGA tour players. But if the Emirati players are to improve, and this is their aim, then the coach says they need to take their A Game to Fiji.
"We have a lot of good players here who have found it difficult to replicate their best form away from the UAE. This is something we are going to work a lot on over the summer," Vallender said.
"My job and that of the coaching staff is to get to the bottom of the reasons why we have underperformed in the bigger tournaments and again I stress it's not because the guys aren't good enough. It would be a different story and a very different challenge if that were the case.
"We will see how these three days go and then turn our attentions on how to get them playing their normal golf on courses and in conditions they are not used to."
The 25th Nomura Cup will take place for the first time in Fiji. It is scheduled for August 16-19 at Denarau.
Over the past 24 championships Australia, Japan and Taiwan have between then won 22 titles. The other two were taken by India in 1973 and then New Zealand in 1995. The Australians are looking to make it seven wins in a row.
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
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Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
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Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
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Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.
Education: Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 1978.
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CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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Running time: 81 minutes
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
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- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
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- Join parent networks
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Five hymns the crowds can join in
Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song
‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope
The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’
There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia
The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ
They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening
Results:
6.30pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,400m.
Winner: Walking Thunder, Connor Beasley (jockey), Ahmad bin Harmash (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap (rated 72-87) Dh 165,000 1,600m.
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7.40pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,400m.
Winner: Big Brown Bear, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.15pm: Handicap (75-95) Dh 190,000 1,200m.
Winner: Stunned, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Handicap (85-105) Dh 210,000 2,000m.
Winner: New Trails, Connor Beasley, Ahmad bin Harmash.
9.25pm: Handicap (75-95) Dh 190,000 1,600m.
Winner: Pillar Of Society, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
