WADI AL NEES, WEST BANK // The Palestinian farmer Yousef Abu Hammad sired enough boys for a football team — literally. Over the years, his 12 sons have formed the core of what is now the top-ranked team in the West Bank.
The current roster includes six of Abu Hammad’s sons, three grandsons and five other close relatives. The players from the hamlet of Wadi Al Nees consistently defeat richer clubs and believe their strong family bonds are a secret to their success.
Having no distractions also helps.
There’s little to do in the village except play football. It is perched on a hilltop just south of Bethlehem and has only about 950 residents, almost all members of the Abu Hammad clan. Until the late 1980s, Wadi Al Nees had no running water or electricity.
“We all love football — kids, men, women, old and young,” said the team director Ahmed Abu Hammad.
Wadi Al Nees heads the West Bank’s top league which has 12 teams. It retained the No 1 slot with a five-point difference even after losing 1-0 on Friday to archrival Al Khader, a team from a village near Bethlehem that is ranked second.
Any defeat is hard to take for Wadi Al Nees, which has collected a cupboard full of trophies, including as league champions in 2008 and 2009 and winners of various local tournaments.
During halftime on Friday, some of the players yelled at each other in the dressing room. The coach Abdel Fattah Arar, 45, the only team member who is not from the Abu Hammad clan, allowed the players to let off steam.
Football in the West Bank is highly emotional, both on the pitch and off.
For the fans in the stadiums — virtually all of them young men — the sport serves as a release from the pressures of their restricted lives. The rules of patriarchy mean they cannot rebel against their elders. They are not allowed to have girlfriends before marriage. High youth unemployment clouds their futures and Israel’s military occupation adds further constraints.
In Friday’s match in the town of Dura, a few dozen Wadi Al Nees fans sat on one side of the stands, separated by fences and helmeted Palestinian police from a boisterous crowd of several hundred Al Khader supporters.
Post-game fights between supporters of rival teams are common, and after Friday’s match police chased fans outside the stadium to keep them from clashing.
Football has mostly brought blessings for Wadi Al Nees.
Yousef Abu Hammad, 75, said he wanted to put the village on the map when he founded the team 30 years ago.
At the time, Wadi Al Nees was not recognised by authorities. As a result, it was not connected to the electricity grid and water network and lacked a school.
“I visited the mayor of Bethlehem,” he said. “I asked for services. He said: ‘I don’t know where it is.’ Then I showed him the newspaper stories about the football club. We got electricity in 1986, water in 1988 and the school in 1993.”
There’s still no pitch, but the plucky team has inspired the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to pay for one. It will be ready in a few months and will make a big difference, said the coach.
Samih Abu Hammad, 34, the captain, said that as children, he and his brothers often practised in alleys and in the tiny playground of the school.
Now the team trains twice a week in the Dura stadium, about 40 kilometres away, and once a week at an indoor gymnasium in Bethlehem. During a fourth weekly session, the players run through the village.
Despite the lack of facilities, Wadi Al Nees has defeated bigger clubs that spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy players. The top league is professional and all players draw salaries, including those from Wadi Al Nees.
The secretary-general of the Palestine Football Association, Abdel Majed Hejeh, said the village team is the best of a total of 79 in the West Bank and 53 in Gaza. “The players are very loyal,” he said. “They even resist attempts by other teams to attract them.”
Two team members played for a Jordanian club last year. A third was offered this year to play for the Saudi team Al Faisali for $130,000, but couldn’t go because his visa was delayed.
Abu Hammad’s six oldest sons — he also has one daughter — initially formed the core of the team. Now it’s the turn of the younger six.
This includes the captain, midfielders Hassan and Khader, defenders Mohammed and Ghaleb, and Amer as a spare. Three grandsons are also playing, including Hazem, goalkeeper Tawfiq and defender Walid, whose father Omar was once considered the best player in the West Bank. Three cousins and two other relatives round out the formation.
Fadi Abu Hammad, 22, said he was proud to be a supporter of the best team in the West Bank.
“Being a family team is a big advantage,” he said. “The players will do their best for the reputation of the club and the reputation of the family, too.”
* Associated Press
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday Spezia v Lazio (6pm), Juventus v Torino (9pm), Inter Milan v Bologna (7.45pm)
Sunday Verona v Cagliari (3.30pm), Parma v Benevento, AS Roma v Sassuolo, Udinese v Atalanta (all 6pm), Crotone v Napoli (9pm), Sampdoria v AC Milan (11.45pm)
Monday Fiorentina v Genoa (11.45pm)
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Stage result
1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 4:42:34
2. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe
3. Elia Viviani (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
4. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) BikeExchange-Jayco
5. Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
6. Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
7. Max Kanter (Ger) Movistar Team
8. Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
9. Tom Devriendt (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
10. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) UAE Team Emirate
All%20The%20Light%20We%20Cannot%20See%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESteven%20Knight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMark%20Ruffalo%2C%20Hugh%20Laurie%2C%20Aria%20Mia%20Loberti%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Haircare resolutions 2021
From Beirut and Amman to London and now Dubai, hairstylist George Massoud has seen the same mistakes made by customers all over the world. In the chair or at-home hair care, here are the resolutions he wishes his customers would make for the year ahead.
1. 'I will seek consultation from professionals'
You may know what you want, but are you sure it’s going to suit you? Haircare professionals can tell you what will work best with your skin tone, hair texture and lifestyle.
2. 'I will tell my hairdresser when I’m not happy'
Massoud says it’s better to offer constructive criticism to work on in the future. Your hairdresser will learn, and you may discover how to communicate exactly what you want more effectively the next time.
3. ‘I will treat my hair better out of the chair’
Damage control is a big part of most hairstylists’ work right now, but it can be avoided. Steer clear of over-colouring at home, try and pursue one hair brand at a time and never, ever use a straightener on still drying hair, pleads Massoud.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20CarbonSifr%3Cbr%3EStarted%3A%202022%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Onur%20Elgun%2C%20Mustafa%20Bosca%20and%20Muhammed%20Yildirim%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Climate%20tech%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%241%20million%20raised%20in%20seed%20funding%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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