DUBAI // The UAE Rugby Federation (UAERF) intend to bid for the right to stage the 2018 World Cup Sevens in Dubai.
The federation were one of 14 national bodies to signal their “intent to tender” for the competition to the International Rugby Board (IRB) earlier this year.
The IRB’s tender documentation arrived at the federation’s offices this weekend, and UAE officials are working out the feasibility for staging the event.
The UAERF, which took over the running of the sport from the Arabian Gulf union at the end of 2010, believe the city would be an attractive host for the IRB, given the prevailing appetite for sevens.
Dubai successfully staged the World Cup of rugby’s abridged version in 2009, when thousands of supporters travelled to the newly built venue at The Sevens, on the Dubai to Al Ain Road.
The success of that event, as well as the annual Rugby Sevens at the same site, contrasted markedly with the most recent edition of the World Cup.
The crowds who watched the competition last year at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow numbered in the hundreds, rather than thousands.
The UAERF believe the sport’s rulers would want to guard against such a poor advertisement for the format by granting hosting rights to a nation where a love for sevens is already entrenched.
However, the organisers of the World Cup hope to stage the competition in August, when temperatures in the UAE are likely too high to play.
Qais Al Dhalai, the secretary general of the federation, hopes Rugby World Cup Ltd would be amenable to the idea of staging the event during the country’s cooler months.
The bid is in partnership with the Dubai government and Dubai Sports Council, Al Dhalai said. “Although we are a small team of staff, we have big dreams,” he said. “We are working very hard to meet people’s expectations.
“[Moscow] damages the sevens game. If you watched the final, there were only 200 people there sitting in a 40,000-seater stadium.
“So the IRB want to host it in a more appropriate area. We hosted it in 2009, and the people who have expressed an interest in hosting it in 2018 are very big countries. We will do our best.”
Countries have until December 5 – which is, coincidentally, the opening day of the IRB competition at this year’s Dubai Rugby Sevens – to submit bids.
Among the other nations who expressed an intent to place bids are New Zealand, England, Wales, Fiji, Hong Kong and Singapore.
The IRB council will announce the host country in May.
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Our family matters legal consultant
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FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
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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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
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Men’s 60kg Round 1:
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