No one planned for this pandemic and it just makes you realise how fragile football, and football finances, actually are.
You take away the television money and you have a lot of clubs who perhaps aren’t in as healthy a financial position as you might imagine.
It’s also important to remember that footballers are members of society too, so they are being impacted by everything we are seeing. You’ve got footballers earning a lot of money but money doesn’t insulate you from the problems that a situation like this is going to create, including problems with mental health.
You also have to remember how young a lot of these guys are.
We saw what happened to Jack Grealish a couple of weeks ago. He has paid a heavy price for doing something he should never have done.
But he is only 24, still a very young man, and at that age people are going to make mistakes. I hope that is not something that people hold against him if and when the season resumes.
My big concern is for players and clubs further down the league ladder, because I would be surprised if next season started with 92 clubs.
I think more than two or three will go under. The Premier League can manage for a short period with no income, but clubs in the lower leagues are so dependent on match day revenues. And it’s not just the clubs themselves, it’s all those businesses around the ground, like the hotels and the caterers.
Beyond that, it is the spectators who are going to suffer. For a lot of people, football is their weekend, it’s what they look forward to, it’s where they socialise with their friends and meet their families. You can’t put a price on that.
To lose that would be absolutely devastating and that is what could have massive repercussions beyond football.
Asking top players to take a salary cut is one thing, but regardless of that, this is going to impact English football for a long, long time to come.
Too easy to swipe at wealthy footballers
There is no denying top level footballers get paid an awful lot of money, but that is because they are in the entertainment business. In that sense, they are no different to anyone making huge amounts in any other industry.
Most of them are very high-profile figures, so when a global crisis like this happens, footballers are always going to come under pressure to do their bit. They are the easiest of easy targets and people have jumped all over them for the past couple of weeks.
But I think it is too simplistic to turn on footballers and demand that they take pay cuts. There is a players’ union to represent you when it comes to things like this.
Either way, most players would be happy to take a pay cut for a specified period, and I personally think they should, if only for a short time.
But politicians shouldn't be getting involved and making demands on footballers. Footballers are playing a part in this fight. There are a lot of clubs doing fantastic work in their local communities and I think the players have now really come to the fore in this crisis.
They are taking responsibility in a situation that no one saw coming and they are working out the best way to help as many people as possible.
The fact is, no one knows how long this is going to last. There are so many scenarios and this is a situation that is changing so fast, on an almost daily basis.
So, whatever happens moving forward, I think it has to be done in consultation with the players union, the clubs and the Premier League.
And politicians need to stop having cheap swipes at footballers.
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Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
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
England v South Africa schedule
- First Test: Starts Thursday, Lord's, 2pm (UAE)
- Second Test: July 14-18, Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 2pm
- Third Test: The Oval, London, July 27-31, 2pm
- Fourth Test: Old Trafford, Manchester, August 4-8
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
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.”
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
