Mocked by some who compare it unfavourably with the Champions League, Uefa's rebranded Europa League sees its group stage concluded tonight and tomorrow.
Fifteen clubs are already through to the last 32 knock-out stage and they will be joined by a further eight sides who finished third in their Champions League group. Among those are giants like Liverpool, Juventus, Marseille and Atletico Madrid who will add a further boost to the credibility of the fledgling competition.
Atletico will become the fourth Spanish club in the Europa League, with Spain already better represented than any other country.
Athletic Bilbao, Valencia and Villarreal have been performing well. The Basques have already qualified, though they aim to avenge an earlier 3-1 defeat by Werder Bremen tonight and finish top of their group. The Germans, with 14 goals the tournament's top scorers, will clinch the top spot instead should they avoid losing, or lose by only one goal, in Bilbao.
Athletic's six-goal striker Fernando Llorente is the competition's top scorer and Athletic, who have not played in the Champions League for more than a decade, are taking the competition seriously.
They came through two qualifying ties to reach the group stage and their San Mames home has been full to its 40,000 capacity for all three of their victorious home games, ample justification that the competition exists for both great clubs and emerging sides who may miss out of the Champions League.
Valencia, fourth in the Primera Liga and top of their group, play at Italian side Genoa tomorrow, needing a draw to qualify, but so tight is their group, a defeat could end their interest in the competition. Unai Emery's side won 3-2 at home when the sides met earlier in the season. The tournament has failed to capture the attention of Valencia fans used to watching Champions League football.
Average crowds for their three Europa League home games in their 55,000 Mestella home have been 19,000. The competition is held in higher regard in Genoa, who had a crowd of 34,000 for their last home game against Lille. Requiring a victory against Valencia to guarantee qualification, a 40,000 full house is expected at the Luigi Ferraris, one of football's most atmospheric arenas. Among the tournament favourites, Valencia will be strengthened by the signing of Argentine midfielder Alejandro Dominguez, the Russian Premier Liga player of the year, from Rubin Kazan.
Villarreal wrap up their campaign with a home game against FC Salzburg tomorrow. Both sides have already qualified from Group G, with Salzburg the surprise leaders after their impeccable record of five consecutive wins - the only side to boast such a record.
Uefa can feel satisfied with how the competition is developing - and the added attention it will receive with the knock-out stage.
amitten@thenational.ae
Bilbao v Werder Bremen, KO 12.05am, Aljazeera Sport + 5
FIXTURES
Saturday
5.30pm: Shabab Al Ahli v Al Wahda
5.30pm: Khorfakkan v Baniyas
8.15pm: Hatta v Ajman
8.15pm: Sharjah v Al Ain
Sunday
5.30pm: Kalba v Al Jazira
5.30pm: Fujairah v Al Dhafra
8.15pm: Al Nasr v Al Wasl
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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RACE SCHEDULE
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday, September 29
First practice: 7am - 8.30am
Second practice: 11am - 12.30pm
Saturday, September 30
Qualifying: 1pm - 2pm
Sunday, October 1
Race: 11am - 1pm
WITHIN%20SAND
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Company%20profile
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Specs – Taycan 4S
Engine: Electric
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 571bhp
Torque: 650Nm
Price: Dh431,800
Specs – Panamera
Engine: 3-litre V6 with 100kW electric motor
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 455bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: from Dh431,800
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Cologne v Hoffenheim (11.30pm)
Saturday
Hertha Berlin v RB Leipzig (6.30pm)
Schalke v Fortuna Dusseldof (6.30pm)
Mainz v Union Berlin (6.30pm)
Paderborn v Augsburg (6.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund (9.30pm)
Sunday
Borussia Monchengladbach v Werder Bremen (4.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Bayer Leverkusen (6.30pm)
SC Freiburg v Eintracht Frankfurt (9on)
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Arsenal's pre-season fixtures
Thursday Beat Sydney 2-0 in Sydney
Saturday v Western Sydney Wanderers in Sydney
Wednesday v Bayern Munich in Shanghai
July 22 v Chelsea in Beijing
July 29 v Benfica in London
July 30 v Sevilla in London
A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
PROFILE BOX
Company name: Overwrite.ai
Founder: Ayman Alashkar
Started: Established in 2020
Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai
Sector: PropTech
Initial investment: Self-funded by founder
Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
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