ABU DHABI // The expanding scope of women's rugby in the UAE will be in evidence at Zayed Sports City today when novice players compete with seasoned internationals in the Gulf Women's Sevens League.
Abu Dhabi Harlequins, the host club for the fourth round of the eight-tournament league series, won the women's league in 2009. However, the nucleus of that side has broken up, and their latest crop includes a variety of players who picked up a rugby ball for the first time only recently.
They face a daunting task as they try to rein in the region's eminent force, Toa Dubai, who can call on a 61-cap Scotland international.
Veronica Fitzpatrick moved to Dubai with her job in corporate banking in May last year. She took leave from work to line up in Scotland's midfield at the World Cup in England in August.
However, if any of the Abu Dhabi newcomers doubt whether the gap can be bridged, they need only to look to their captain, Helen Martin. She had never played the game before she moved to Doha in 1997. Yet she was soon turning out in international competition for the Arabian Gulf.
"I came to Doha and it was the only sport available to women at that time, along with tennis, so I changed to play rugby," said Martin, whose passion was hockey before moving to Doha.
After eight years in Qatar, followed by three in Germany, she settled in Abu Dhabi in 2007 and was a pillar of the title-winning side two years later.
"The standard [of women's rugby in the Gulf] has gone up tremendously," said Martin, who last year was given an Arabian Gulf Legends award for services to the women's game.
"The girls are much fitter, much stronger and much more aware of the game. Many have played before arriving in the Gulf, as well, which helps because it means they are not learning it from scratch. The standard is far better than when the league first started.
"Toa are definitely the team to beat this year, which is surprising in some ways because the Dubai Hurricanes were so strong last year."
As a marker of the strength of the league-leading Toa side, Fitzpatrick was not even playing when they won the Gulf Women's title at December's Dubai Rugby Sevens.
They beat last season's champions, the Hurricanes, 22-19 in the final at The Sevens, and are in a strong position to add the league title to that crown.
"We have had a different team every tournament, but have still won each one," said John Mamea-Wilson, the Toa coach.
"It is just our time. The standard of women's rugby in the Gulf has improved heaps. It used to just be a one-horse race with the Hurricanes so far ahead. Now they are rebuilding a little and other teams, like Sharjah and Doha, have been improving, and we have been the dominant team lately."
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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.
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.”
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Manchester City 2
Sterling (8'), Walker (52')
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Yedlin (30')
