Wednesday’s cover: UAE face familiar hurdles on road to 2018 World Cup

An illustration with UAE playmaker Omar Abdulrahman adorns The National Sport front cover on Wednesday, April 13, after the groups for the final round of Asian Qualyfing for the 2018 World Cup were announced in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

The UAE were drawn in Group B, alongside Asian powerhouses Australia and Japan. Gulf rivals Saudi Arabia, as well as Iraq and Thailand make up the rest of the pot. Group A comprises Iran, South Korea, Uzbekistan, China, Qatar and Syria.

Yousef Al Serkal, the Football Association president, said Mahdi Ali's men would have the full support of his organisation, and has backed them to qualify for Russia in two years't time.

You can also read John McAuley's comment reacting to the UAE's tough group, where only the top two teams in each group are assured of reaching Russia 2018, while the third-placed team in each group faces one another in a play-off before the winner moves onto a deciding two-legged clash with a team from Concacaf.

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COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Almnssa

Started: August 2020

Founder: Areej Selmi

Based: Gaza

Sectors: Internet, e-commerce

Investments: Grants/private funding

The more serious side of specialty coffee

While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.

The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.

Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”

One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.

Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.

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Results

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7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: AF Ramz, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi.

8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: AF Mass, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.