The Arabian Gulf League's kick off is four weeks away, but for one UAE club the season starts tonight.
Al Ain take on Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in the first leg of their Asian Champions League quarter-final, with the return leg next Tuesday at King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh.
The next seven days could turn out to be some of the most important in Al Ain’s history.
Having beaten another Emirati team, Al Jazira, in the round of 16, Al Ain have serious designs on the trophy they won in 2003 under Bruno Metsu.
But the early start against Al Ittihad brings with it a new challenge and significant implications for UAE football.
No Emirati team has made this stage of the competition since Al Wahda in 2007. Al Ain last contested a quarter-final a year earlier.
This has the potential to be a glorious start to the season even before a ball has been kicked domestically.
Progress will be a massive boost for a team hoping to regain their place at the top of Emirati football after a dismal 2013/14 in which they finished sixth in the AGL table, 21 points behind the champions and bitter rivals Al Ahli.
Zlatko Dalic, the Al Ain manager, will rightly feel that since taking over from Quique Sánchez Flores with three months of the season left, the team’s fortunes have improved dramatically.
In addition to the steady progress in the Champions League, the President’s Cup was won against Al Ahli at Zayed Sports City Stadium in May.
That momentum is in danger of being lost should Al Ain fail to beat Ittihad. A win, though, would have things looking rosy – and not just for Dalic and Al Ain.
Success for Al Ain in the continent’s premier club competition would reflect positively on the recently rebranded domestic league – a competition that has not always been taken seriously outside the UAE.
Over the past two years, things have started to change as clubs have learnt their lessons.
It may not be anywhere near the standard of the top European leagues, and even a few Asian ones, but the AGL can no longer be mocked as a retirement home for big-name foreign signings at the tail end of their careers.
One player has done more than anyone else to change attitudes.
When Asamoah Gyan left the high life of the English Premier League to join Al Ain three years ago, he was derided as a player with a lack of ambition.
Yet his move has been an unqualified success for player and club, and he showed at the recent World Cup in Brazil that, far from losing his edge, he remains a formidable player at international level.
Gyan, who has just signed a contract extension at Al Ain, has maintained that the Asian Champions League is one of the main reasons he remains at the club.
He has already scored 10 goals in this year’s competition, with three coming in the two games against Al Jazira.
There is every indication he can keep that impressive run going and lead Al Ain all the way to the two-legged final on October 25 and November 1.
Should Al Ain win the trophy for the second time in their history, expect the AGL to reap the benefits.
Nothing boosts a domestic league more than the success of its clubs in continental competitions.
In the past 15 years, the English clubs has provided four Uefa Champions League winners, four finalists and several other semi-finalists. Its reputation, despite the continuing failures of the England national team, has never been higher and it continues to be the top destination in the world for players.
As it happens, the UAE national team is doing its part for the AGL, thanks to a renaissance of its own over the past two years.
Success at the Gulf Cup of Nations, not to mention the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia, coupled with progress for Al Ain next week could herald the AGL’s most prosperous era.
The pressure is on Dalic and his troops to deliver Tuesday night.
akhaled@thenational.ae
Follow us on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
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What you as a drone operator need to know
A permit and licence is required to fly a drone legally in Dubai.
Sanad Academy is the United Arab Emirate’s first RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) training and certification specialists endorsed by the Dubai Civil Aviation authority.
It is responsible to train, test and certify drone operators and drones in UAE with DCAA Endorsement.
“We are teaching people how to fly in accordance with the laws of the UAE,” said Ahmad Al Hamadi, a trainer at Sanad.
“We can show how the aircraft work and how they are operated. They are relatively easy to use, but they need responsible pilots.
“Pilots have to be mature. They are given a map of where they can and can’t fly in the UAE and we make these points clear in the lectures we give.
“You cannot fly a drone without registration under any circumstances.”
Larger drones are harder to fly, and have a different response to location control. There are no brakes in the air, so the larger drones have more power.
The Sanad Academy has a designated area to fly off the Al Ain Road near Skydive Dubai to show pilots how to fly responsibly.
“As UAS technology becomes mainstream, it is important to build wider awareness on how to integrate it into commerce and our personal lives,” said Major General Abdulla Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief, Dubai Police.
“Operators must undergo proper training and certification to ensure safety and compliance.
“Dubai’s airspace will undoubtedly experience increased traffic as UAS innovations become commonplace, the Forum allows commercial users to learn of best practice applications to implement UAS safely and legally, while benefitting a whole range of industries.”
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
FIXTURES
Saturday, November 3
Japan v New Zealand
Wales v Scotland
England v South Africa
Ireland v Italy
Saturday, November 10
Italy v Georgia
Scotland v Fiji
England v New Zealand
Wales v Australia
Ireland v Argentina
France v South Africa
Saturday, November 17
Italy v Australia
Wales v Tonga
England v Japan
Scotland v South Africa
Ireland v New Zealand
Saturday, November 24
|Italy v New Zealand
Scotland v Argentina
England v Australia
Wales v South Africa
Ireland v United States
France v Fiji
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List
James Mustich, Workman
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Sam Smith
Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi
When: Saturday November 24
Rating: 4/5
