Shaun Wright-Phillips, the former Chelsea and Manchester City winger, says he is open to the idea of a move to the Arabian Gulf League for the 2014/15 season.
The England international, 32, is in the final months of a three-year deal with Queens Park Rangers in the English Championship.
“We don’t get to see it on TV here, but I’ve heard a lot about the league in the UAE,” he said. “I’ve been to Dubai many times for holidays. It’s a beautiful country.”
He said "many greats" such as Diego Maradona, Fabio Cannavaro, Michel Salgado and Asamoah Gyan "are playing and working there, and that has put a lot of attention to the league there".
“I saw UAE play at the London Olympics for the first time and I was really impressed with how they played against the likes of Great Britain and Uruguay,” Wright-Phillips said.
“It will obviously be interesting to play in the UAE league. My agent has not been approached, so we will see what happens end of the season, and see if QPR gets into the Premier League.”
He said he also is interested in continuing his career in Major League Soccer in North America.
Of MLS, he said: “My brother Bradley plays for the Red Bulls in New York and that’s a league which interests me as well, so let’s see what happens.”
Wright-Phillips has not started a match for QPR since September and has not scored in nine matches this season. He is likely to be pushed further down the pecking order at Loftus Road by the loan signing of Ravel Morrison from West Ham.
“It’s been stop-start for me so far, due to injuries, but we are getting there,” Wright-Phillips said. “Obviously, I would’ve liked to score more goals, but we got a important point against Leeds United. That’s what matters right now.
"We are in the mix for the promotion back to the Premier League through the play-offs. That's our target and that's what manager Harry Redknapp has been telling us, we need to be back to the Premier League."
sports@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
Most%20polluted%20cities%20in%20the%20Middle%20East
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EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Company%20Profile
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Brief scores:
Newcastle United 1
Perez 23'
Wolverhampton Rovers 2
Jota 17', Doherty 90' 4
Red cards: Yedlin 57'
Man of the Match: Diogo Jota (Wolves)
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
THE%C2%A0SPECS
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Dubai World Cup prize money
Group 1 (Purebred Arabian) 2000m Dubai Kahayla Classic - $750,000
Group 2 1,600m(Dirt) Godolphin Mile - $750,000
Group 2 3,200m (Turf) Dubai Gold Cup – $750,000
Group 1 1,200m (Turf) Al Quoz Sprint – $1,000,000
Group 2 1,900m(Dirt) UAE Derby – $750,000
Group 1 1,200m (Dirt) Dubai Golden Shaheen – $1,500,000
Group 1 1,800m (Turf) Dubai Turf – $4,000,000
Group 1 2,410m (Turf) Dubai Sheema Classic – $5,000,000
Group 1 2,000m (Dirt) Dubai World Cup– $12,000,000
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Inside%20Out%202
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The%20specs
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The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now