Football

Watch: Luis Figo, Carles Puyol and host of former superstars take part in Dubai five-a-side

Match at Dubai World Trade Centre was organised as part of the Dubai Fitness Challenge.

Paul Radley
Paul Radley
Dubai

November 22, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

Luis Figo and a host of other former greats of the world game played a friendly five-a-side in Dubai at the weekend.

The 2001 World Player of the Year led an all-star cast of former teammates and rivals, in the air-conditioned halls for the Dubai World Trade Centre.

World Cup-winning former Spain captain Carles Puyol was joined by his ex-Barcelona colleague Eric Abidal in the match, which was organised as part of the Dubai Fitness Challenge.

The players on show have accumulated every major honour there is in the game across the course of their careers.

Clarence Seedorf, who won the Champions League with three clubs, played alongside fellow former Real Madrid star Michel Salgado, and his former Ajax colleague Patrick Kluivert.

Italian goalkeeping great Walter Zenga, who has had a number of spells managing in the UAE, Ghana’s Sulley Muntari and Frenchman Ibrahim Ba were also involved in the fixture at Dubai Sports World.

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Dubai's Sheikh Zayed Road turns into cycle track

  • Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, participates in the Dubai Ride Challenge in November 2020.
    Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, participates in the Dubai Ride Challenge in November 2020.
  • Sheikh Hamdan led from the front as Sheikh Zayed Road was closed to traffic.
    Sheikh Hamdan led from the front as Sheikh Zayed Road was closed to traffic.
  • The Dubai Ride challenge took cyclists past major Dubai landmarks, such as the Museum of the Future, which Sheikh Hamdan passes here.
    The Dubai Ride challenge took cyclists past major Dubai landmarks, such as the Museum of the Future, which Sheikh Hamdan passes here.
  • Sheikh Hamdan with other cyclists. Karim Sahib / AFP
    Sheikh Hamdan with other cyclists. Karim Sahib / AFP
  • People take to the Sheikh Zayed Road for the Dubai Ride. Karim Sahib / AFP
    People take to the Sheikh Zayed Road for the Dubai Ride. Karim Sahib / AFP
  • The free event is part of the Dubai Fitness Challenge. Karim Sahib / AFP
    The free event is part of the Dubai Fitness Challenge. Karim Sahib / AFP
  • It was the first time the Sheikh Zayed Road was closed off for such an event. Karim Sahib / AFP
    It was the first time the Sheikh Zayed Road was closed off for such an event. Karim Sahib / AFP
  • Dubai residents carry the UAE flag as they ride on the Sheikh Zayed Road. Karim Sahib / AFP
    Dubai residents carry the UAE flag as they ride on the Sheikh Zayed Road. Karim Sahib / AFP
  • The event was led by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai. Karim Sahib / AFP
    The event was led by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai. Karim Sahib / AFP
  • Sheikh Hamdan, centre right in blue with headlights on, takes part. Karim Sahib / AFP
    Sheikh Hamdan, centre right in blue with headlights on, takes part. Karim Sahib / AFP
  • The event began in the early hours of Friday. Karim Sahib / AFP
    The event began in the early hours of Friday. Karim Sahib / AFP
  • Thousands of cyclists took part. Karim Sahib / AFP
    Thousands of cyclists took part. Karim Sahib / AFP
  • Cyclists passed Dubai landmarks such as Burj Khalifa. Karim Sahib / AFP
    Cyclists passed Dubai landmarks such as Burj Khalifa. Karim Sahib / AFP
  • Dubai has been encouraging more people to use bikes. Karim Sahib / AFP
    Dubai has been encouraging more people to use bikes. Karim Sahib / AFP
  • The roads were blocked off for hours. Karim Sahib / AFP
    The roads were blocked off for hours. Karim Sahib / AFP
  • The Sheikh Zayed Road turned into a cycling track for the Dubai Ride challenge. Courtesy: Jeremy Paul de Jesus
    The Sheikh Zayed Road turned into a cycling track for the Dubai Ride challenge. Courtesy: Jeremy Paul de Jesus
From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

Hajj 2019
Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

Dubai