Moroccan captain Romain Saiss says he will “give everything” to be fit to help his history-making side continue their incredible World Cup dream, but insisted he will not put his side’s chances of reaching the final at risk.
The defender, 32, was stretchered off 57 minutes into Morocco’s quarter-final victory against Portugal on Saturday, as his side triumphed 1-0 to become the first African country, and first Arab nation, to make the last four of a global finals. They face world champions France at Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday.
Saiss, who plies his trade for Turkey’s Besiktas, has been carrying an injury during the tournament, and was not certain to play against Portugal. Morocco were already missing his central defensive partner, Nayef Aguerd, through an injury sustained in the last-16 penalty-shootout win against Spain.
Asked on Saturday if he would be fit for the semi-final, Saiss said: “I will try, I don’t know. We will see tomorrow; we will do some exams to see what kind of injury I have. But I will try my best to be on the pitch. I hope it will be OK.
“After that, if I feel it’s too difficult, I will not take any risks to put my team in trouble just to play the semi-final. But, of course, I will give everything I can to be here, like I did to be here for 55 minutes today.”
On how the whole squad has contributed to Morocco’s run, he said: “It just shows the character and the mentality of this team. So everyone is ready to play; it doesn’t matter if they play for a while, or if they come in every game.
“Everyone is focused and ready to play. That’s how you go really far in this tournament.”
Saiss, though, has been integral to a Morocco defence that has conceded only once in Qatar, and that came via a freak own goal from Aguerd, in the 2-1 group-stage victory against Canada.
Walid Regragui’s men, who became the first team from their country in 36 years to qualify for the World Cup knockouts, finished top of their group, defeating Belgium, then the world’s No 2-ranked side, and drawing with 2018 runners-up Croatia.
“We are really happy, really proud,” Saiss said. “Because it’s amazing for all the country, for all Africa, so we are really, really happy.
“We know each game is really tough because we’re facing only top teams in the World Cup, so it’s even better after when you win. Just happy for us, for our families, and our fans.”
As to whether Morocco ever dreamt of making it this far in Qatar, Saiss said: “We had a dream, of course. Dreaming is free. So we can dream. But, after, to do it is different. We put a lot of energy in each game – physically and mentally it’s hard, but at the end it’s so good.
“I know we made history. But we want to keep making history. We’ll see. It’s important now to recover well and to prepare the semi-final.”
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The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
'Jurassic%20World%20Dominion'
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.”
TOP 5 DRIVERS 2019
1 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 10 wins 387 points
2 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 4 wins, 314 points
3 Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 3 wins, 260 points
4 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2 wins, 249 points
5 Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1 win, 230 points
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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