In his book Football in Sun and Shadow, the Uruguayan writer, Eduardo Galeano, tells a touching story of fellow countryman Paco Espinola, himself an author too.
Unlike Galeano, Espinola was no lover of football. Or so he thought. One day in the summer of 1960, he accidentally came across a radio commentary of a derby between Montevideo’s bitterest rivals, Penarol and Nacional.
Penarol were thrashed 4-0. By that evening, an inexplicable sense of melancholy had descended on Espinola. He was at loss to explain why.
Was it the general sadness that permeates everyday life? Perhaps there was more to it?
Dining alone, it finally dawned on him. He was a Penarol, and football, fan. He just “hadn’t known it” before.
Not even Espinola himself knew what had triggered his latent devotion to Penarol. Perhaps it was the commentator’s screams, or the sound of the crowd. Or maybe empathy for a battered loser.
Football can do that to you sometimes.
Every World Cup, even the biggest of cynics will usually catch the bug. But not all World Cups are an equal sell.
With exactly two weeks to go before the Fifa Under 17 World Cup kicks off in Abu Dhabi, Fifa and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) will be hoping that there is still enough time for casual fans to discover that they too love football enough to make this tournament a success.
The stadiums across the country are ready; the teams aching to get started. They have built it, will the fans come?
Certainly in the last month the LOC has done its best to raise the profile of what will be the UAE’s fifth Fifa-sanctioned tournament.
Over the last week, the U17 trophy has been making its way around the six host cities, giving football fans a glimpse of what it is all about, attempting to drum up interest in the event, and ticket sales.
This week too, the LOC kicked off an awareness campaign to take the World Cup celebrations to 21 local schools across the Emirates.
The initiative is aimed at giving 10,000 children opportunities to win prizes and interact with the teams and players over the next four weeks. The trophy tour and school initiatives are reminders of just how accessible this tournament will be. Almost every resident of the host cities will invariably be no more than a 30-minute drive from one of the six stadiums.
It is no exaggeration to say the success of the tournament depends on fans snapping up those tickets.
In Mexico two years ago, the average attendance was 19,000. Over 98,000 fans filled the Aztec Stadium to watch Mexico’s youngsters beat Uruguay 2-0 and clinch the title.
The LOC would be happy with a quarter of that average. For even that to happen, the local communities in the six cities must do their part. Starting with support for the home team.
But both Badr Ahmad Al Hammadi, the U17 team manager, and senior national coach Mahdi Ali have been at liberty to point out the importance of watching the other games in the tournament that do not involve the UAE.
Emirati fans cannot alone be expected to fill the stadiums by themselves. The expatriate population have a big part to play, too.
It will not be easy. Youth tournaments, for obvious reasons, suffer from a lack of star attractions. They are, however, conveyor belts for emerging talent.
The 2010 World Cup final in South Africa was settled by a long ball from Fernando Torres, a pass from Cesc Fabregas, and a finish from Andres Iniesta. All stars of previous junior World Cup tournaments.
These competitions offer supporters a chance to get ahead of the crowd. Imagine the scene. It is the 2018 World Cup final, hosts Russia are taking on mighty Brazil in Moscow.
Who would not want the kudos of being able to say “I remember him from Abu Dhabi five years ago”, or “he really caught my eye in Sharjah”, football fans being the know-it-alls that they are.
In Abu Dhabi, UAE v Brazil at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on October 20 is the big one. In Dubai, where Argentina will play there group matches, fans can indulge in the ever-popular past-time of spotting the next Maradona/Messi/Aguero.
Playing football in an empty stadium is, Galeano said at the start of his book, like dancing without music.
Let us hope the tournament is full of noise. The next generation of footballing stars deserve our support.
Drag your friends along too. They probably love football, even if they do not know it yet.
akhaled@thenational.ae
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
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Shower or bath after being outside.
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Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
What is type-1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a genetic and unavoidable condition, rather than the lifestyle-related type 2 diabetes.
It occurs mostly in people under 40 and a result of the pancreas failing to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugars.
Too much or too little blood sugar can result in an attack where sufferers lose consciousness in serious cases.
Being overweight or obese increases the chances of developing the more common type 2 diabetes.
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe
Price, base: Dh201,153
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
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Torque: 300Nm @ 1,600rpm
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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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Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite food: Fish and vegetables
Favourite place to visit: London
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
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- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
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Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.
Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.