Zambia returned to the scene of its worst sporting tragedy to make it a place of unrestrained joy after winning a nerve-racking African Cup of Nations final on penalties over tournament favorite Ivory Coast.
Stophira Sunzu scored the deciding spot-kick after Arsenal's Gervinho missed for the Ivorians, giving Zambia a 8-7 win on penalties after the teams were locked at 0-0 through 120 minutes in the final on Sunday night.
Zambia's first African title came, poignantly, in Libreville and just a few kilometres from where almost the entire Zambian team was killed in a plane crash 19 years ago off the coast of the Gabon capital.
In a game of relentless drama and high emotion, the most significant moment was perhaps when Kalusha Bwalya, a member of the tragic team who was not on the ill-fated aircraft in 1993 and is now Zambia's football federation president, lifted the Cup of Nations trophy up in one hand on the pitch, almost defiantly.
It was Zambia's first game in Libreville since that the plane crash.
"There was a sign of destiny, a force within us. Maybe it was meant to be," Herve Renard, the Zambia coach, said. "I can't explain it, honestly I can't explain it. Something was written in the stars. It was not me."
Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba also missed a 70th-minute penalty to send the game to extra time and then a shootout and boost Zambia's feeling that they were meant to win.
After both sides made their first seven penalties, Kolo Toure gave Zambia a chance at victory when his effort was saved by Kennedy Mweene. But Kalaba Rainford sent his effort high over the crossbar.
But Gervinho faltered as well and Sunzu made no mistake when it was his turn, drilling his penalty past Boubacar Barry for the title-clinching moment that capped a compelling, storybook ending.
"It was not the right time," Renard said of Rainford's miss, "but Sunzu was strong and he gave us the African Cup."
The Zambians, who had watched the final few penalties on their knees with arms linked, erupted in joy and chased after Sunzu.
"That's (the plane crash) the thing that's been driving us through the tournament," goalkeeper Mweene said. "We have been thinking about that since we went into camp.
"It's one of those games. We were playing against big names but ... we had to do it. The team spirit and the brotherhood in the team was the key for us."
Sunzu ran to the team's fans behind the goal to begin the celebrations. The current players had pledged to return to Libreville and win their first major trophy to honor the 25 Zambian players and officials who died in the crash.
The Gabonese fans at a packed Stade de l'Amitie were also won over and were chanting "Chipolopolo," the Zambian team's nickname, at the end. It was more than just a neutral crowd backing the underdog. The home fans seemed to be offering their support after the Zambians lost so many players just off their shores.
Drogba hit his regular-time penalty way over the crossbar after Gervinho was fouled, and then looked up at the sky in frustration. And even though the Chelsea striker scored in the shootout, Ivory Coast still failed to end a 20-year wait for a second African title despite being highly rated and everyone's pick to win.
"Zambia really believed in their victory," Francois Zahoui, the Ivory Coast coach, said. "What else can I tell you? It's a very big disappointment. We didn't expect such a difficult game from the Zambians."
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Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
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Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.
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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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