Former Manchester United and Ireland captain Roy Keane warned after Sunday's fan protests against the owners of the football club, the Glazer family, that this was "just the start" of their campaign.
Over the weekend, these weren't the only protests happening, nor were they just related to football. There were rallies in Colombia, France, Spain, the UK and Germany – some of these were timed for May Day or Labour Day. Taken together with previous protests, going back at least to last summer's Black Lives Matter rallies, it shows that people are more ready than ever to take to the streets to call for change when they believe that their interests have been undermined.
The experience at Manchester United is also a good illustration of how we have arrived at this point when demonstrations have become more frequent. Keane explained that the trigger for what happened in Manchester on Sunday was a long time coming.
It wasn't only about recent weeks and the plans by Europe's biggest football clubs to form a breakaway European competition. "It's been building for a number of years. They've come to the end and feel enough is enough … There's been a build-up in tension."
In any case, the fans got the immediate result they wanted – the match was postponed.
In Colombia, protesters also got what they wanted. President Ivan Duque said he will withdraw a proposed tax reform that included changes to sales tax on utilities and some food. However, protests did continue for several more days – there has been discontent simmering for some time in that country.
The same could be said elsewhere in the world.
More than a year ago, before the pandemic hit, the Edelman Trust Barometer showed that "a majority of respondents in every developed market do not believe they will be better off in five years' time, and more than half of respondents globally believe that capitalism in its current form is now doing more harm than good in the world".
“Distrust is being driven by a growing sense of inequity and unfairness in the system. The perception is that institutions increasingly serve the interests of the few over everyone,” it added.
This is the backdrop for the societal unrest we are facing in 2021 and there should be an expectation that it will continue. The impact of the pandemic and Covid-19-related restrictions have come on top of technological shifts, economic headwinds and intensifying climate change, applying increasing pressure on governments and populaces alike.
Demonstrators take part in a protest against a tax reform proposed by Colombian President Ivan Duque's government in Bogota this week. AFP
Although long-term solutions are coming, more immediately there can be no quick panacea
In such a charged atmosphere, when so many are stretched close to breaking point, decision makers must be cautious to avoid attempts to push through policies that have little benefit to the majority of stakeholders. The now-aborted European Super League idea is proving the point.
Although long-term solutions to many of the most belligerent issues are coming, such as US President Joe Biden's proposed education, jobs and infrastructure programmes – which will see several trillions of dollars invested in creating a more sustainable and equitable future should they win backing from Congress – more immediately, there can be no quick panacea.
Street demonstrations are just the tip of the iceberg, as social media reveals the scale of action by activists trying to persuade Manchester United's commercial partners to lend weight to their attempts to force the owners to sell up. There have been other, if smaller, protests at Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, part of the group of six English clubs that tried to break away.
Football fans clearly do not believe the current system favours them. They want more of a say in the running of the clubs and the game. Whether they are able to achieve real change remains to be seen. Sunday’s invasion of Old Trafford by Manchester United fans was followed by clashes between police and supporters outside the stadium.
Filipinos queue to receive Russian Sputnik vaccine at a sports arena in Manila this week. Getty Images
Activists have promised more to come at the next home match, raising the prospect of further ugly scenes.
It will be difficult for authorities to quell this tide without making sure some of their demands are met. This will be tricky for the British government, which has backed fans opposing the European Super League.
However, the experience of the pandemic has changed the paradigm, and authorities cannot ignore people who have largely accepted the restrictions put in place because of the public health crisis on the basis of putting the common good above the individual. Extending that progressive thinking to fix other problems in society doesn’t seem that far-fetched now.
Beyond football, will this apply to those tackling wider systemic problems, such as those pushing for an end to racial inequalities and prejudice, calling for action against climate change or fairer distribution of Covid-19 vaccines?
At this inflection point, they do seem to have significant momentum behind them and some kind of change seems inevitable.
Mustafa Alrawi is an assistant editor-in-chief at The National
Pakistan - Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Aamer Yamin, Rumman Raees.
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What is a credit score?
In the UAE your credit score is a number generated by the Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB), which represents your credit worthiness – in other words, your risk of defaulting on any debt repayments. In this country, the number is between 300 and 900. A low score indicates a higher risk of default, while a high score indicates you are a lower risk.
Why is it important?
Financial institutions will use it to decide whether or not you are a credit risk. Those with better scores may also receive preferential interest rates or terms on products such as loans, credit cards and mortgages.
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The AECB collects information on your payment behaviour from banks as well as utilitiy and telecoms providers.
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England World Cup squad
Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wkt), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Pot 1: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China
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The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
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Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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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.”
