DUBAI // The financial woes afflicting Division One clubs has claimed another victim with Al Arabi becoming the latest to opt out of the league.
The Umm Al Qaiwain club is the third withdrawal from Division One this summer after the two Ras Al Khaimah clubs, Al Rams and Al Jazira Al Hamra, with all three citing the difficulty of maintaining a football team with their limited budgets.
Al Arabi’s pull-out has reduced the number of teams in Division One to 11 and there are rumours a few other clubs are contemplating a similar move.
“It is a very difficult decision for us, but we have been forced to take this step,” Abdulkarim Mohammed, the secretary general of Al Arabi, told Arabic daily Al Bayan.
“The local government has not failed us, but the expenses have been mounting, and we do not have patrons who could help us out.
“We have not been able to find the support we need to meet our commitments, so we have chosen to withdraw.”
Mohammed claims clubs in Division One, which is scheduled to kick off on November 15, are becoming “victims of professionalism” with the pay cheques offered to players in the Arabian Gulf League leading to an increase in demands from their own recruits.
“Sometimes, just one deal made by the professional clubs is more than the combined budgets of all Division One clubs,” said Mohammed, whose club could be fined Dh100,000 by the UAE Football Association for their withdrawal, as Rams and Hamra were.
“Our players look at what is being offered to their colleagues by the professional clubs and they expect similar amounts from us, both foreign and Emirati players, and we are forced to do that to support the team.
“The problems are not just restricted to the players and our obligations towards them. It goes beyond. You have to pay the wages of the other employees and then there is the issue of water and electricity bills, which keeps rearing its head.
“We have issued cheques amounting to Dh500,000 during the past few days towards the electricity bills.
“So it is a really difficult situation for us and the other clubs, and I do not rule out the possibility of more withdrawals.”
With the big-spending AGL clubs and their stars hogging the limelight, the financial plight of the amateur clubs has generally gone unnoticed.
According to estimates, the Division One clubs spend an average of Dh200,000 a month on their first team, while their receipts, for all the club’s different activities, might not exceed Dh120,000.
The issue first came to the fore after the 2008/09 season when Al Hamriya decided to disband their first football team and compete in only age-group tournaments.
Masfout followed suit two years ago, and that list has grown to eight with Al Arabi joining Al Rams, Al Jazira Al Hamra, Fallaj Al Moalla, Al Bataeh and Al Madam. Media reports have suggested Masafi and Al Tawoon could be headed that way as well, but that has been denied by officials from the two clubs.
“We get Dh60,000 a month, while our expenditure on players alone could amount to Dh200,000,” said Saif Al Mazroui, a Masafi official. “In addition, we have the water and electricity bills, and other expenses.
“So, like the other clubs, we are in a really difficult situation, but we do not want to withdraw.
“Most of them do not have the money or the resources and we need to find solutions urgently. The Football Association needs to intervene to save the situation.”
arizvi@thenational.ae
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Top 10 in the F1 drivers' standings
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 202 points
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-GP 188
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-GP 169
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing 117
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 116
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing 67
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 56
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 45
9. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso 35
10. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault 26
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The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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.”
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.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Brief scoreline:
Toss: South Africa, elected to bowl first
England (311-8): Stokes 89, Morgan 57, Roy 54, Root 51; Ngidi 3-66
South Africa (207): De Kock 68, Van der Dussen 50; Archer 3-27, Stokes 2-12
