• The privately owned Earthlink internet provider is catering to diehard football fans in Iraq by setting up a giant screen in public to show all Fifa World Cup matches. All photos: Sinan Mahmoud / The National
    The privately owned Earthlink internet provider is catering to diehard football fans in Iraq by setting up a giant screen in public to show all Fifa World Cup matches. All photos: Sinan Mahmoud / The National
  • Iraqis can enjoy the live games at the courtyard of Baghdad’s Town Centre Mall in the commercial hub of Mansour
    Iraqis can enjoy the live games at the courtyard of Baghdad’s Town Centre Mall in the commercial hub of Mansour
  • The moment when Cody Gakpo opened the scoring for the Netherlands in the 84th minute against Senegal
    The moment when Cody Gakpo opened the scoring for the Netherlands in the 84th minute against Senegal
  • The atmosphere among the fans was quite subdued in the first half but changed in the second as both the Netherlands and Senegal picked up the pace
    The atmosphere among the fans was quite subdued in the first half but changed in the second as both the Netherlands and Senegal picked up the pace
  • A man distributes sweepstake tickets on who will lift the World Cup, with a tablet on offer for the winner
    A man distributes sweepstake tickets on who will lift the World Cup, with a tablet on offer for the winner
  • Abdullah Al Qaisi, a 25-year old construction contractor, says he feels proud that Qatar is the first Arab country to host the World Cup
    Abdullah Al Qaisi, a 25-year old construction contractor, says he feels proud that Qatar is the first Arab country to host the World Cup
  • Construction worker Abbas Salam, 16, says he cannot afford to pay for encrypted channels to watch the matches so he enjoys the games at the fan zone
    Construction worker Abbas Salam, 16, says he cannot afford to pay for encrypted channels to watch the matches so he enjoys the games at the fan zone
  • Mr Salam puts a bet on Brazil
    Mr Salam puts a bet on Brazil

Iraqi fans enjoy first winter World Cup in outdoor cafes and terraces


Sinan Mahmoud
  • English
  • Arabic

As the Fifa World Cup kicks off in Qatar, diehard football fans in Iraq are gathering at cafes and open spaces to watch the games, enjoying free access to live streams and nice weather.

A privately owned internet provider has the football covered in Baghdad after setting up a giant screen in an open space to show all games. Cafes across the country are also packed with fans.

At the courtyard of the city's Town Centre Mall in the upscale commercial hub of Mansour, Iraqis are enjoying the games in temperatures around the 20ºC mark – down from the blistering summer heat usually associated with a summer World Cup.

It is the first World Cup to be held in the Arab world and the second held entirely in Asia after the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan.

The championship, which started on Sunday, ends on December 18.

Uniformed waiters briskly navigated the packed fan zone set up by Earthlink, serving the fans food, drinks and shisha.

Construction worker Abbas Salam, 16, said he cannot afford paying the encrypted channels to watch the matches so he enjoys the games at the fan zone. Sinan Mahmoud / The National
Construction worker Abbas Salam, 16, said he cannot afford paying the encrypted channels to watch the matches so he enjoys the games at the fan zone. Sinan Mahmoud / The National

Nearby, a man distributed tickets to a sweepstake for the winning team in the tournament, offering tablets and computers for the winners. The tickets offered for free as a promotion for an app for online learning.

Young people and families sat on fluffy bean bag chairs littered around the screen, with some huddled over wooden and metal tables from nearby cafes and restaurants.

“The atmosphere is amazing and the weather is fabulous,” Abdullah Al Qaisi, a 25-year-old construction contractor, told The National.

“I feel very proud to see an Arab country hosting the World Cup. It’s a success for all Arab countries and hopes one day Iraq will be able to host the tournament.”

The atmosphere among the fans was quiet during the subdued first half of the Senegal-Netherlands match.

But it changed in the second half, as Mr Al Qaisi and other fans held their breath when the teams started to push deeper.

Cody Gakpo opened the scoring for the Netherlands in the 84th minute with a header at the end of a brilliantly timed run. Substitute Davy Klaassen scored in the 99th minute.

  • The Netherlands' Cody Gakpo scores their first goal in the World Cup Group A match against Senegal at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on November 21, 2022. Reuters
    The Netherlands' Cody Gakpo scores their first goal in the World Cup Group A match against Senegal at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on November 21, 2022. Reuters
  • Cody Gakpo celebrates scoring the Netherlands' first goal against Senegal with Frenkie de Jong. Reuters
    Cody Gakpo celebrates scoring the Netherlands' first goal against Senegal with Frenkie de Jong. Reuters
  • Davy Klaassen of the Netherlands scores their second goal. Getty
    Davy Klaassen of the Netherlands scores their second goal. Getty
  • Davy Klaassen of the Netherlands celebrates after scoring their second. Getty
    Davy Klaassen of the Netherlands celebrates after scoring their second. Getty
  • Virgil van Dijk of the Netherlands, left, vies for the ball with Senegal's Boulaye Dia. AP
    Virgil van Dijk of the Netherlands, left, vies for the ball with Senegal's Boulaye Dia. AP
  • Senegal's Cheikhou Kouyate is taken from the field on a stretche. AP
    Senegal's Cheikhou Kouyate is taken from the field on a stretche. AP
  • Senegal's Ismaila Sarr is injured. Reuters
    Senegal's Ismaila Sarr is injured. Reuters
  • Denzel Dumfries, centre, jumps for a header with Senegal's Ismaila Sarr, left, and Matthijs de Ligt. AP
    Denzel Dumfries, centre, jumps for a header with Senegal's Ismaila Sarr, left, and Matthijs de Ligt. AP
  • Netherlands' Nathan Ake in action with Senegal's Boulaye Dia. Reuters
    Netherlands' Nathan Ake in action with Senegal's Boulaye Dia. Reuters
  • Denzel Dumfries of the Netherlands battles for possession with Pape Abou Cisse of Senegal. Getty
    Denzel Dumfries of the Netherlands battles for possession with Pape Abou Cisse of Senegal. Getty
  • Virgil van Dijk of the Netherlands, left, vies for the ball with Senegal's Boulaye Dia. AP
    Virgil van Dijk of the Netherlands, left, vies for the ball with Senegal's Boulaye Dia. AP
  • Netherlands' midfielder Steven Berghuis lifts the ball past Senegal midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye. AFP
    Netherlands' midfielder Steven Berghuis lifts the ball past Senegal midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye. AFP
  • Aliou Cisse, head coach of Senegal, speaks to Kalidou Koulibaly. Getty
    Aliou Cisse, head coach of Senegal, speaks to Kalidou Koulibaly. Getty
  • Netherlands' forward Cody Gakpo, right, misses a chance. AFP
    Netherlands' forward Cody Gakpo, right, misses a chance. AFP
  • Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly slides in on Netherlands' forward Cody Gakpo as Senegal keeper Edouard Mendy watches on. AFP
    Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly slides in on Netherlands' forward Cody Gakpo as Senegal keeper Edouard Mendy watches on. AFP
  • Daley Blind of the Netherlands, left, is challenged by Senegal's Krepin Diatta. AP
    Daley Blind of the Netherlands, left, is challenged by Senegal's Krepin Diatta. AP
  • Senegal's Ismaila Sarr and Netherlands' Denzel Dumfries collide. Reuters
    Senegal's Ismaila Sarr and Netherlands' Denzel Dumfries collide. Reuters
  • Senegal's Nampalys Mendy shoots. Reuters
    Senegal's Nampalys Mendy shoots. Reuters
  • Senegal's Pape Abou Cisse, right, remonstrates with referee Wilton Sampaio. AP
    Senegal's Pape Abou Cisse, right, remonstrates with referee Wilton Sampaio. AP
  • Virgil Van Dijk of the Netherlands battles for possession with Boulaye Dia of Senegal. Getty
    Virgil Van Dijk of the Netherlands battles for possession with Boulaye Dia of Senegal. Getty
  • Netherlands' midfielder Steven Berghuis and Senegal's Cheikhou Kouyate battle. AFP
    Netherlands' midfielder Steven Berghuis and Senegal's Cheikhou Kouyate battle. AFP
  • Abdou Diallo of Senegal fends off Denzel Dumfries of the Netherlands. EPA
    Abdou Diallo of Senegal fends off Denzel Dumfries of the Netherlands. EPA
  • Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy claims a high ball. AP
    Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy claims a high ball. AP
  • Steven Berghuis of the Netherlands, left, shoots. AP
    Steven Berghuis of the Netherlands, left, shoots. AP
  • Senegal keeper Edouard Mendy punches the ball clear. Getty
    Senegal keeper Edouard Mendy punches the ball clear. Getty
  • Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio gives a yellow card to Netherlands' defender Matthijs De Ligt. AFP
    Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio gives a yellow card to Netherlands' defender Matthijs De Ligt. AFP
  • Senegal's Boulaye Dia battles with Netherlands' Nathan Ake. AFP
    Senegal's Boulaye Dia battles with Netherlands' Nathan Ake. AFP

The fan zone offers construction worker Abbas Salam from Baghdad's Jihad area a chance to enjoy the games. He arrived with his two friends.

“We can’t afford to pay the [private] encrypted channels to watch the matches,” said Mr Salam, 16, as he was putting a tick mark under the Brazil flag in the raffle.

Football is Iraq's most popular sport, followed by basketball and swimming, a poll for the Independent Institute of Administration and Civil Society Studies research group in Iraq found.

Around 77 per cent of Iraqis say they are following the World Cup tournament matches, with Argentina topping the list of teams supported by Iraqis, followed by Brazil and Qatar.

Iraq did not qualify for the 2022 Fifa World Cup after losing to Iran 1-0 in June.

However, Iraq will host the eight-team Arabian Gulf football tournament in January for the first time since 1979.

The 25th Gulf Cup will be held in the southern city of Basra from January 6 to 19, when Iraq will be joined by Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen.

Many Iraqis see it as a sign of their country's recovery after years of conflict, political and economic crises and uneasy relations with Gulf neighbours.

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

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.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi

From: Dara

To: Team@

Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT

Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East

Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.

Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.

I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.

This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.

It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.

Uber on,

Dara

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Scoreline

Australia 2-1 Thailand

Australia: Juric 69', Leckie 86'
Thailand: Pokklaw 82'

Yahya Al Ghassani's bio

Date of birth: April 18, 1998

Playing position: Winger

Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda

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.”

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UAE players with central contracts

Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.

Manchester City (0) v Liverpool (3)

Uefa Champions League, quarter-final, second leg

Where: Etihad Stadium
When: Tuesday, 10.45pm
Live on beIN Sports HD

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Updated: November 24, 2022, 8:24 AM