Stephen Hart, the Trinidad coach, says playing in friendlies such as the OSN Cup are good opportunities for players, such as Kenwyne Jones, above, to test themselves against different international opponents.
Stephen Hart, the Trinidad coach, says playing in friendlies such as the OSN Cup are good opportunities for players, such as Kenwyne Jones, above, to test themselves against different international opponents.
Stephen Hart, the Trinidad coach, says playing in friendlies such as the OSN Cup are good opportunities for players, such as Kenwyne Jones, above, to test themselves against different international opponents.
Stephen Hart, the Trinidad coach, says playing in friendlies such as the OSN Cup are good opportunities for players, such as Kenwyne Jones, above, to test themselves against different international op

Sport

Different agendas for UAE football team and other OSN Cup sides

Mahdi Ali's men return to action for first time since 2-1 win over Uzbekistan in Asian qualifier on March 22, reports Amith Passela.

Amith Passela
Amith Passela

September 04, 2013

  • English
  • Arabic

Mahdi Ali, the UAE coach, will make use of the OSN Cup, a four-team friendly tournament in Saudi Arabia to test his men ahead of their Asian Cup qualifier against Hong Kong next month.

The UAE meet Trinidad and Tobago in Thursday night's opening match, followed by the Saudi Arabia versus New Zealand game at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.

The winners of the first round will advance to the championship on Monday while the two losing teams will meet for third place.

The tournament provides Mahdi Ali's men an opportunity to reunite for the first time in more than five months.

They flew out from Dubai five days ahead of the competition in order to have maximum time for their preparation.

"My players are in good shape and spirit and we have a sound strategy in place for this competition," the coach said said. "It is important to win the opening match and of course we are looking forward to taking the trophy home.

"Winning the 2013 Gulf Cup has helped to boost the team's morale and I hope we are able to deliver a similar performance.

"The two games in this tournament will also provide us the opportunity to prepare the team for the important upcoming Asian Cup qualifying game against Hong Kong."

The UAE are returning to action for the first time since their 2-1 victory over Uzbekistan in an Asian qualifier on March 22.

That win moved them to the top of Group E after two games. They meet Hong Kong away on October 15 and three points will take them close to earning them a ticket to 2015 Asian Cup in Australia.

"It's good for us to play countries with different styles such as UAE. Each brings their own set of skills," said Stephen Hart, the Trinidad coach.

"And it's important for our team to learn to adapt and face new opposing teams."

For the Saudi coach, Juan Ramon Lopez Caro, it is an opportunity to see the strengths his team possesses.

"We have trained hard and are looking forward to showcasing the strengths of some of our finest players, who will soon go on to represent us within the global circuit," the Spaniard said.

Ricki Herbert, the New Zealand coach added: "International football is not easy no matter where you go, and to play in the Middle East is tough.

"The pace and technical ability of all teams at this tournament will be high and this will be an important test for us."

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New Zealand trail by 18 runs with nine wickets remaining

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Sri Lanka require another 75 runs with three wickets remaining

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Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
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Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan

The top two teams qualify for the World Cup

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The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.

Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place play-off

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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.

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Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

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“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.”

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