ABU DHABI // Franky Vercauteren faces his first test as the Al Jazira coach when he leads the team against capital rivals, Al Wahda, tonight in the Super Cup, the opening match of the 2011/12 domestic football season.
"We are going into our first game with some very positive work," said the Belgian, who took over only last week as a replacement for Abel Braga at the club.
"We must thank for the work Braga did last season to win both the league and the President's Cup, otherwise we wouldn't be playing in this Super Cup this season," Vercauteren said.
"I am here to continue with that work and win more titles."
A victory at the Baniyas stadium tonight would allow Jazira to simultaneously hold three of the four UAE domestic trophies.
Wahda won the league in 2010 and played Jazira to draws in both league games last season.
However, Jazira routed Wahda 4-0 in the President's Cup final.
Wahda were conspicuous by their inactivity during the close season, but the coach, Josef Hickerberger, is optimistic that they will be a match for their city rivals.
The four-time league champions open the season with no changes in their foreign-player roster and no local signings.
In fact, they offloaded the club stalwarts Abdulraheem Jumaa to Al Jazira, Fahed Masoud to Al Wasl and Hassan Ameen to Al Nasr.
They also will be without their influential forward, Ismail Matar, who is recovering from a knee surgery, and Hamdan Al Kamali, the central defender who suffered a cheekbone fracture in the UAE's 3-2 defeat to Kuwait in the 2014 World Cup qualifier on September 2.
Hickersberger believes he will have a strong line-up for the game.
"I can't reveal the team composition and those who may not be able to play due to injuries in this game, but we are ready for them," the Austrian said.
"It was not easy to organise the team when six or seven players were away on national duty, but we have had a couple of days to work with them and we will think of how to optimise our chances to win this game."
Saleh Obaid, the Jazira captain, said that he expects Wahda to be strong opponents.
"It has always been a big game for us against Al Wahda," he said. "They may have been inactive during the summer but we respect them because they have great players and several of them are in the national team."
Jazira will be without Ali Kasheif, the injured goalkeeper, and Yaser Matar, the defender.
apassela@thenational.ae
KO, Baniyas stadium, 7.30pm?
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
SPECS
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Barbie
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
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.
What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Brief scores:
Day 1
Toss: South Africa, field first
Pakistan (1st innings) 177: Sarfraz 56, Masood 44; Olivier 4-48
South Africa (1st innings) 123-2: Markram 78; Masood 1-4
Brief scores:
Toss: South Africa, chose to field
Pakistan: 177 & 294
South Africa: 431 & 43-1
Man of the Match: Faf du Plessis (South Africa)
Series: South Africa lead three-match series 2-0
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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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
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Match info
Uefa Nations League Group B:
England v Spain, Saturday, 11.45pm (UAE)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Kandahar%20
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Our family matters legal consultant
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