The World Athletics Championships will kick off on Saturday in Tokyo, with plenty of exciting showdowns expected to unfold over the next nine days.
Here’s a look at some of the top athletes from the Middle East and North Africa, looking to score big in Japan.
Soufiane El Bakkali
(Morocco – 3,000m steeplechase, 5,000m)
Moroccan star Soufiane El Bakkali has dominated the 3,000m steeplechase since 2022, winning four gold medals across the past two World Championships and Olympic Games.
The 29-year-old, who is also entered in the 5,000m, has clocked the fastest time of the year in the steeplechase, posting 8:00.70 in May in Rabat.
Can he make it five consecutive global titles in his signature event? It will take a monumental effort to stop him.
Schedule
3,000m steeplechase: Heats – Saturday, September 13; Final – Monday, September 15
5,000m: Heats – Friday, September 19, Final – Sunday, September 21
Djamel Sedjati
(Algeria – 800m)
The Olympic bronze medallist will renew his three-way rivalry with Kenya’s Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Canada’s world champion Marco Arop in the 800m event, where a strong field will be looking to break David Rudisha’s world record that has stood since the London 2012 Olympics.
Sedjati hasn’t raced much this year – just five times – but the 1:42.20 he clocked in Monaco in July makes him the third-fastest entrant in this year’s field.
A World Championship silver medallist in Eugene three years ago, Sedjati, 26, is one of the fastest ever 800m runners, but will have his work cut out when he takes on Wanyonyi, who has won five of his past six races and has successfully defended his Diamond League crown.
Schedule
800m: Heats – Tuesday, September 16; Semi-finals – Thursday, September 18, Final – Saturday, September 20
Salwa Eid Naser
(Bahrain – 400m)
Paris Olympics silver medallist Salwa Eid Naser arrives in Tokyo in red-hot form, having gone under 49 seconds on four occasions so far this year in the 400m, including a world-leading 48.67 in Jamaica in April.
The Nigerian-born Bahraini clocked 48.70 to win the Diamond League Final in Zurich two weeks ago and will be targeting a second world title in Tokyo, having clinched gold in Doha back in 2019.
Many eyes will be on the women’s 400m this year given the tight rivalry between Naser and Olympic and world champion Marileidy Paulino, who is 3-2 in their head-to-head this season, but lost to the Bahraini by more than half a second in Zurich.
Another exciting factor is Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. The American hurdles superstar has decided to run the 400m flat this year and holds the third-fastest time of the season (48.90).
Egypt’s Bassant Hemida is also one to keep an eye out for in this event. After a lengthy battle with injuries sidelined her from major competitions last year, the 28-year-old has returned to action this season stronger than ever.
She set a new national record of 50.53 in the 400m in Madrid in July and is currently ranked 24 in the world in the event.
Schedule
400m: Heats – Sunday, September 14; Semi-finals – Tuesday, September 16; Final – Thursday, September 18
Marwa Bouzayani
(Tunisia – 3,000m steeplechase)
Tunisia has a rich history in women’s steeplechase, with Habiba Ghribi picking up gold at both the Olympics and the World Championships before she retired.
Her compatriot Marwa Bouzayani is now looking to take over the baton and she heads into these World Championships in Tokyo ranked No 7 in the world in the 3,000m steeplechase.
The 9:06.84 she clocked in June in Oslo places her eighth among the world-leading times for the season and her last outing pre-Worlds was a bronze medal-winning performance in the Diamond League Final in Zurich.
Schedule
3,000m steeplechase: Heats – Monday, September 15; Final – Wednesday, September 17
Abderrahman Samba
(Qatar – 400m hurdles)
Owner of the fourth-fastest time of the season in the 400m hurdles, Abderrahman Samba will try to get in the mix and disrupt the three-way rivalry between Karsten Warholm, Rai Benjamin, and Alison dos Santos that has dominated the event in recent years.
A bronze medallist at the World Championships on home soil in 2019, the injury-prone Samba is enjoying an impressive resurgence this season.
The 30-year-old Asian record-holder clocked 47.09 in a meet in Paris in June and he most recently took silver in the Diamond League Final in Zurich behind Warholm.
Schedule
400m hurdles: Heats – Monday, September 15; Semi-finals – Wednesday, September 17; Final – Friday, September 19
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.”
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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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.
