Almost every UAE national team coach, from Bruno Metsu to Dominique Bathenay, Srecko Katanec and Abdullah Misfir, has spoken about the need for the country's best players to compete in Europe's top leagues, against the world's best, to grow as footballers.
Ask Asamoah Gyan or Grafite and they will readily reel off the names of Omar Abulrahman, Ali Mabkhout or Ahmed Khalil as Emiratis who have the talent to succeed in any league around the globe.
A decade earlier, they would have mentioned Ismail Matar - the winner of the best player award at the 2003 Youth World Cup, ahead of some of today's biggest stars such as Andres Iniesta, Javier Mascherano and Dani Alves.
Yet, aside from a one-match loan spell in Qatar, Matar never left the shores of the UAE. He kept dreaming of playing overseas, in any league, to challenge himself and for the chance of proving himself in front of a new audience. But that opportunity never came.
Why? If you believe Brian McDermott, the manager of the English Premier League club Reading, it is because of the "phenomenal" salaries that footballers earn in the UAE.
"If you have a player being paid tax free, then you are going to have to pay a lot of money to get them," McDermotttold The National.
Now, anyone connected with UAE football will readily concede there is probably too much money being paid to the football players here.
The Football Association has also taken note of that; they are in the process of implementing a salary cap.
But that probably is not the primary reason why Emiratis do not take their talents to distant lands. Ask any UAE player and he would be willing to play for a lot less if the opportunity arose.
The challenges are a bit more intrinsic, as Hamdan Al Kamali, pointed out.
The Al Wahda central defender, who spent the second half of the 2011/12 season on loan at the French club Lyon, believes the real challenge is adjusting to a different culture, a different lifestyle.
So McDermott's comment about the money seems a bit off the mark, especially when he concedes Reading do not have a scout based in the Middle East, nor do they feel it is essential.
It would be hard to imagine the parents of a 16 year old here asking for millions if Reading were to offer him a contract. But the club would never know of a talented young player in the Middle East because they are simply not looking at players from this part of the world.
The Reading manager, who joined the club as their chief scout in 2000, also suggested that Omar Abdulrahman had priced himself out of a deal with Manchester City last summer, when he went there for a trial after the London Olympics.
That again seems a bit far-fetched, keeping in mind the ownership of City.
And even if Abdulrahman had agreed to play for free, would he have got a work permit?
According to the UK Border Agency's points-based system, to be eligible for a work permit, a non-EU football player "must have played for his country in at least 75 per cent of its competitive A team matches for which he was available for selection during the previous two years", and his "country must have averaged at least 70th place in the official Fifa world rankings over the previous two years".
Nashat Akram was Fifa's reigning Midfielder of the Year when he agreed a deal with Manchester City in 2008, but he failed to get a work permit.
And the Iraqi had left a US$1 million (Dh3.67m) contract with Al Ain for a chance to play in England.
So, you see, it is not just about the money.
There is much more that keeps the best of the UAE's talents from achieving their dreams of playing in Europe.
arizvi@thenational.ae
Premier League, s10
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
Dubai Rugby Sevens
November 30-December 2, at The Sevens, Dubai
Gulf Under 19
Pool A – Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jumeirah College Tigers, Dubai English Speaking School 1, Gems World Academy
Pool B – British School Al Khubairat, Bahrain Colts, Jumeirah College Lions, Dubai English Speaking School 2
Pool C - Dubai College A, Dubai Sharks, Jumeirah English Speaking School, Al Yasmina
Pool D – Dubai Exiles, Dubai Hurricanes, Al Ain Amblers, Deira International School
Fatherland
Kele Okereke
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Price, base / as tested: Dh99,900 / Dh134,900
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Transmission: Six-speed automatic
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
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Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Brief scores:
Everton 0
Leicester City 1
Vardy 58'
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.”
