• Emi Martinez, Bernd Leno and Joe Willock take a knee in support of Black Lives Matter before the friendly match against Brentford at Emirates Stadium. Getty
    Emi Martinez, Bernd Leno and Joe Willock take a knee in support of Black Lives Matter before the friendly match against Brentford at Emirates Stadium. Getty
  • Mesut Ozil and David Luiz of Arsenal. Getty
    Mesut Ozil and David Luiz of Arsenal. Getty
  • Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah. Getty
    Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah. Getty
  • Cedric Soares, Shkodran Mustafi, Kieran Tierney and Gabriel Martinelli. Getty
    Cedric Soares, Shkodran Mustafi, Kieran Tierney and Gabriel Martinelli. Getty
  • Zech Medley of Arsenal. Getty
    Zech Medley of Arsenal. Getty
  • Matt Macey, Bukayo Saka and Rob Holding of Arsenal. Getty
    Matt Macey, Bukayo Saka and Rob Holding of Arsenal. Getty

Football

'Black Lives Matter' set to replace Premier League player names on back of shirts for opening round of restart fixtures

The shirt tribute was reported to have been proposed by a group of Premier League captains and Professional Footballers’ Association representatives

The National

June 12, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

English Premier League players will pay tribute to worldwide anti-racism movements by wearing shirts with the words "Black Lives Matter" on the back during the opening round of fixtures at the season's restart.

The words will replace player surnames on the back of the shirt, while the BLM logo will be displayed on the front, according to reports in the British media.

Heart-shaped badges paying tribute to NHS workers for their work during the coronavirus crisis are also planned for the shirts, while there will also be a minute's silence at the games to ­honour those who have died as a result of the pandemic.

The tribute comes amid worldwide protests against racial injustice following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.

Several Premier League clubs in recent weeks have posed taking a knee, like former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick who popularised the gesture as a way to protest racial issues.

On Thursday, Arsenal players were warmed up ahead of their friendly match against Brentford wearing T-shirts in support of the BLM movement.

Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle United players have also been pictured taking a knee during training over the last couple of weeks.

Crystal Palace defender Patrick van Aanholt said on Wednesday that players needed to "come together" in support of BLM. "I'm prepared to do it [take a knee], 100 per cent. They've done it in Germany and Premier League teams have done it in training. We have a platform and as a global sport, we have to come together," he told Sky Sports.

“Everyone has [been talking about it], not just the players. The manager has … the whole club. The white players are asking … how can we help?”

Clubs will also respect one minute's silence for those who have died during the Covid-19 pandemic and kits will include a heart-shaped badge in honour of NHS and frontline staff during the crisis.

The Premier League will resume on June 17 after a three-month stoppage due to the outbreak, which has caused more than 41,000 deaths in the United Kingdom.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo 

 Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua

 Based: Dubai, UAE

 Number of employees: 28

 Sector: Financial services

 Investment: $9.5m

 Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. 

 

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.”

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

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Brief scores:

Toss: Northern Warriors, elected to field first

Bengal Tigers 130-1 (10 ov)

Roy 60 not out, Rutherford 47 not out

Northern Warriors 94-7 (10 ov)

Simmons 44; Yamin 4-4

While you're here
While you're here

Juventus v Napoli, Sunday, 10.45pm (UAE)

Match on Bein Sports

Results

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m, Winner: Zalman, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)

5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Hisham Al Khalediah II, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash.

6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Qader, Adrie de Vries, Jean de Roualle

6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship Listed (PA) Dh180,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Mujeeb, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel

7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Shanaghai City, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly

8pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 1,400m, Winner: Nayslayer, Bernardo Pinheiro, Jaber Ramadhan

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