Street cricket in Al Sufouh, Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
Street cricket in Al Sufouh, Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
Street cricket in Al Sufouh, Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
Street cricket in Al Sufouh, Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Claims that sport is elitist are absurd – just ask any cricketer practising on a sandpit in the UAE


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On Sunday it was April 1, widely known and marked as April Fool's Day, a day for playing pranks or circulating them via the media.

I remember one occasion many years ago when a friend of mine managed to trick a local newspaper – not this one – into printing a story about the discovery of a massive hoard of gold coins somewhere in the Liwa. It was a joke, of course, although it created considerable excitement.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a story in a British newspaper that, had it been published on Sunday, I would have immediately taken to be an April Fool's Day joke.

It wasn’t, though – it was the latest in a long line of examples of the idiocy of political correctness, something of which I am not a great fan.

The headline of the story read "PE lessons are ‘racist and celebrate white privilege'." The story reported that a study by academics at Leeds Beckett University and the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences had come to the conclusion that "traditional school sports uphold elitist ideas that were an extension of nationalism and the British empire".

The report went on to say that the academics involved "claim that giving advice about fitness could be racist by imposing cultural norms".

A former chairman of the UK’s Commission for Racial Equality was quoted as saying that the study was "crazy". I might have used rather different terms but the term "cobblers" comes to mind.

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I have not had the dubious pleasure of reading the full report. If these, though, are the key conclusions of the study, which no doubt consumed a considerable amount of British and Norwegian taxpayers’ money, then I can’t help thinking those funds might have been better spent promoting physical education in schools.

Are great British Olympic athletes like Somali-born Sir Mo Farah endorsing white privilege and racism by inspiring thousands of youngsters of varied ethnic origins to take up competitive sport?

Are Indian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan cricketing stars of today and yesteryear promoting the ancient concepts of the British empire by enthralling crowds?

When the anti-apartheid movement in Britain, in which I was involved, was campaigning against a 1970 tour by the South African cricket team because it was all white, were we inspired by an opposition to nationalism? No – we opposed the apartheid regime because it excluded great non-white players like Basil D’Oliviera from selection to represent their country.

While sports like rugby, soccer and tennis may have had their birth in Britain and have spread from there to the rest of the world, their adoption by people from other lands, both within and outside the former British empire, surely suggests they were not simply adjuncts to a UK-centric nationalism.

And those south Asian cricket players in the UAE who make good use of car parks, sandpits and other open spaces at the weekend to knock a ball about would surely be surprised to hear that the sport they play is somehow "elitist".

I was never a great fan of PE lessons at school – although I, like others, can derive considerable pleasure from watching top gymnasts. I recognise the real value for children of PE lessons as part of their education.

If that means they also learn about competitiveness, about striving to do their best, as well as being more healthy, so much the better. Yes, there can be ugly overtones to the nationalism expressed by supporters of a nation’s sport teams but that has little to do with the sport concerned, while the idea that promoting fitness is somehow "racist by imposing cultural norms" is, surely, utterly preposterous.

I wish I could convince myself that the study was meant to be a joke. As it is, though, I’ll just have to take it as ignorant codswallop.

PROFILE OF STARZPLAY

Date started: 2014

Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand

Number of employees: 125

Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile

Asia Cup Qualifier

Final
UAE v Hong Kong

TV:
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am

MAIN CARD

Bantamweight 56.4kg
Abrorbek Madiminbekov v Mehdi El Jamari

Super heavyweight 94 kg
Adnan Mohammad v Mohammed Ajaraam

Lightweight 60kg
Zakaria Eljamari v Faridoon Alik Zai

Light heavyweight 81.4kg
Mahmood Amin v Taha Marrouni

Light welterweight 64.5kg
Siyovush Gulmamadov v Nouredine Samir

Light heavyweight 81.4kg
Ilyass Habibali v Haroun Baka

Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6:  The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite  a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa. 

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

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.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

Another way to earn air miles

In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.

An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.

“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.

Need to know

The flights: Flydubai flies from Dubai to Kilimanjaro airport via Dar es Salaam from Dh1,619 return including taxes. The trip takes 8 hours. 

The trek: Make sure that whatever tour company you select to climb Kilimanjaro, that it is a reputable one. The way to climb successfully would be with experienced guides and porters, from a company committed to quality, safety and an ethical approach to the mountain and its staff. Sonia Nazareth booked a VIP package through Safari Africa. The tour works out to $4,775 (Dh17,538) per person, based on a 4-person booking scheme, for 9 nights on the mountain (including one night before and after the trek at Arusha). The price includes all meals, a head guide, an assistant guide for every 2 trekkers, porters to carry the luggage, a cook and kitchen staff, a dining and mess tent, a sleeping tent set up for 2 persons, a chemical toilet and park entrance fees. The tiny ration of heated water provided for our bath in our makeshift private bathroom stall was the greatest luxury. A standard package, also based on a 4-person booking, works out to $3,050 (Dh11,202) per person.

When to go: You can climb Kili at any time of year, but the best months to ascend  are  January-February and September-October.  Also good are July and August, if you’re tolerant of the colder weather that winter brings.

Do not underestimate the importance of kit. Even if you’re travelling at a relatively pleasant time, be geared up for the cold and the rain.

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

FINAL RESULT

Sharjah Wanderers 20 Dubai Tigers 25 (After extra-time)

Wanderers
Tries: Gormley, Penalty
cons: Flaherty
Pens: Flaherty 2

Tigers
Tries: O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons: Caldwell 2
Pens: Caldwell, Cross

What are the influencer academy modules?
  1. Mastery of audio-visual content creation. 
  2. Cinematography, shots and movement.
  3. All aspects of post-production.
  4. Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
  5. Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
  6. Tourism industry knowledge.
  7. Professional ethics.
Company%C2%A0profile
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CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier

Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman

The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August

 

Group A

Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar

 

Group B

UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia