ABU DHABI // Sports professionals yesterday added to calls on the Government to spend more money on harnessing the potential of young Emirati athletes.
They said better funding was essential and extra facilities should be provided to train the new generation of Emirati sportsmen and women.
Their pleas followed an appeal to the Federal National Council (FNC) on Wednesday from sport officials demanding more money and backing to help the UAE win international competitions.
Members of the FNC's education, youth, media and culture committee said during the meeting that they had been unaware of the scale of the problems described by the nation's sport organisations.
The technical director of the Dubai-based UAE Tennis Association, Slah Bramly, called yesterday for a more cohesive structure to allow coaches to spot and nurture potential in young sportspeople.
"The country is producing some good, successful young players but what we lack is a system to develop the skills of these young people," he said.
"We need centres where we can develop and detect the players who have real potential and train them to compete and win internationally."
Too many independent tennis coaching groups failed to work cohesively with his association, he said.
Adil Khalid, the Emirati sailing champion, praised the Government's present efforts but said more money had to be pushed into sailing and other sport if the UAE was to achieve international success.
"There must be more financial support from the Government if we are to win medals at events like the Olympics," said Khalid, 20, who competed in the Beijing Games last year.
"We are a not a poor country and the Government needs to do even more to support sport here.
"In Europe they spend millions providing sports facilities and on developing young talent.
"Too much money here goes to funding football. There should be more money for other sport like sailing and rowing."
Jamie Cunningham, the managing director of Professional Sports Group, an Abu Dhabi-based sport marketing firm that also has offices in the UK, said steady funding and good organisation were crucial to developing sporting talent.
"There is no question that in Britain, sport benefited hugely from the funding which came from the National Lottery," he said. "It allowed for the construction of sports facilities, some of which are among the best in the world, and the development of new talent.
"The facilities widen the talent base, which improves a country's chance of achieving success internationally."
He agreed that there appeared to be a breakdown in the infrastructure intended to support up-and-coming Emirati sportspeople. "For the UAE, they have to put together a plan which involves government bodies working alongside the sport associations to construct the facilities they need," he said.
Taleb al Muhairi, secretary general of the UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation, echoed the need for a more structured training system in the UAE but said his sport was not lacking money.
"We need more competitions for riders to take part in and a greater focus on training young riders," he said.
"A lot of people enjoy riding but what we need to do is transform these riders into international competitors.
"It is not a matter of a lack of funding. It is a lack of a comprehensive strategy on how to develop and train riders to become world-class.
"We have a big number of showjumping and endurance riders but we need to create more competitions to develop their abilities."
Jan Naylor, 40, who is originally from Shropshire in the United Kingdom and now lives in Abu Dhabi, said she had considered leaving the UAE because of the lack of swimming facilities to develop the potential of her 12-year-old daughter, Fay.
"We used to have to drive to Dubai so we could use the pool there but the travel there and back was very time-consuming.
"To compete as a swimmer, you need to be in the water for at least 12 hours a week plus land training.
"We tried it for three months but there was just not the time in the week.
"It is a shame that Fay is going to lose out on the opportunity to progress with her talent."
chamilton@thenational.ae
Election pledges on migration
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"
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
if you go
The flights
Flydubai offers three daily direct flights to Sarajevo and, from June, a daily flight from Thessaloniki from Dubai. A return flight costs from Dhs1,905 including taxes.
The trip
The Travel Scientists are the organisers of the Balkan Ride and several other rallies around the world. The 2018 running of this particular adventure will take place from August 3-11, once again starting in Sarajevo and ending a week later in Thessaloniki. If you’re driving your own vehicle, then entry start from €880 (Dhs 3,900) per person including all accommodation along the route. Contact the Travel Scientists if you wish to hire one of their vehicles.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Company%20profile
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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
Paltan
Producer: JP Films, Zee Studios
Director: JP Dutta
Cast: Jackie Shroff, Sonu Sood, Arjun Rampal, Siddhanth Kapoor, Luv Sinha and Harshvardhan Rane
Rating: 2/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
UAE v United States, T20 International Series
Both matches at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free.
1st match: Friday, 2pm
2nd match: Saturday, 2pm
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Rameez Shahzad, Amjad Gul, CP Rizwan, Mohammed Boota, Abdul Shakoor, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat
USA squad: Saurabh Netravalkar (captain), Jaskaran Malhotra, Elmore Hutchinson, Aaron Jones, Nosthush Kenjige, Ali Khan, Jannisar Khan, Xavier Marshall, Monank Patel, Timil Patel, Roy Silva, Jessy Singh, Steven Taylor, Hayden Walsh
