Organisers of the Emirates Dubai Sevens say the newly expanded tournament is the template for which World Rugby want to expand the appeal of the sport.
The competition will again be the first of the rebranded, eight-leg HSBC SVNS world series when it takes place from December 1-3.
The National Day weekend event will have another new sport added. In recent years netball, cricket and cross-fit competitions have joined what was a rugby-only event for the best part of 50 years. A padel tournament will take place for the first time this year.
According to Simon Jelowitz, the head of sport operations for the Sevens, Dubai is setting an example for other legs on the series to follow.
“World Rugby want seven other Dubais,” Jelowitz said. “That might sound a little big-headed, [but] they are saying that no longer can it just be a nine-hour festival of World Series rugby. There needs to be more about it.
“This model seems to be where World Rugby want to go. Hong Kong and Dubai are seen as the standard bearers for this kind of experience. Now the onus is on the other [tournaments] on the series doing that.”
There are nearly 5,000 players scheduled to take part across the sports, with 100,000 spectators expected to attend across the three days.
Rugby will still provide the largest number, with 2,916 to be involved. Netball will have 850, cricket 432, with 300 taking part in the fitness challenge and 250 in padel.
Jelowitz says the new sports have helped create a broader appeal. “Cricket, for example, is massive out here,” he said.
“It helps us become more culturally diverse. It encourages people who wouldn’t have had an association with the tournament to come in and participate.
“It is important for us to develop to show the wonderful cultural diversity of the city.”
Mathew Tait, the festival director and general manager of the Dubai Sevens, won the main tournament twice as a player with England back in 2004 and 2005.
Those competitions were rugby only, and played at a different venue altogether, at the old Dubai Exiles ground in Al Awir.
He says the event has responded to the growth of the UAE and the altered demographics of the city.
“We have to be cognisant of the fact Dubai has changed,” Tait said. “When I played in ’04 and ’05 Dubai was at the start of this unbelievable trajectory under the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
“The Sevens was pretty much the only party in town at the time. Now every weekend there are multiple things, so we have to look at iterating and changing.”
His two Dubai titles rank among the favourite career memories for Tait, who also played for England’s XVs side in the 2007 Rugby World Cup final.
He describes sevens as the “purest form” of the game, and says he would have happily stayed in it, were the financial conditions more agreeable.
“Candidly, there was no money in it,” Tait said. “If it had been the same money then maybe. I was lucky as a young man to be able to travel the world and see the sights, and I also managed to do that in XVs, too, albeit on a slightly bigger scale and with more stress.
“The thing about sevens is it is the game in its purest form, and those were the part of the game I enjoyed.
“There was pressure, yes, because you are driven to win and perform well. But there is not the same media scrutiny as when you are in XVs.
“I just really enjoyed it. There was a trip where we did Gold Coast, the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, a week in Bali, then the Hong Kong Sevens, and that is probably the fondest memory of my entire career.”
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TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
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.”
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Day 3, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Just three balls remained in an exhausting day for Sri Lanka’s bowlers when they were afforded some belated cheer. Nuwan Pradeep, unrewarded in 15 overs to that point, let slip a seemingly innocuous delivery down the legside. Babar Azam feathered it behind, and Niroshan Dickwella dived to make a fine catch.
Stat of the day - 2.56 Shan Masood and Sami Aslam are the 16th opening partnership Pakistan have had in Tests in the past five years. That turnover at the top of the order – a new pair every 2.56 Test matches on average – is by far the fastest rate among the leading Test sides. Masood and Aslam put on 114 in their first alliance in Abu Dhabi.
The verdict Even by the normal standards of Test cricket in the UAE, this has been slow going. Pakistan’s run-rate of 2.38 per over is the lowest they have managed in a Test match in this country. With just 14 wickets having fallen in three days so far, it is difficult to see 26 dropping to bring about a result over the next two.
MATCH INFO
Karnatake Tuskers 114-1 (10 ovs)
Charles 57, Amla 47
Bangla Tigers 117-5 (8.5 ovs)
Fletcher 40, Moores 28 no, Lamichhane 2-9
Bangla Tiger win by five wickets
Lexus LX700h specs
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Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
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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.
THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
How Voiss turns words to speech
The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen
The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser
This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen
A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB
The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free
Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards
Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser
Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages
At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness
More than 90 per cent live in developing countries
The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device
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
