The UAE national team will be the first Arab nation to travel to Palestine for a competitive match. Courtesy: UAE FA
The UAE national team will be the first Arab nation to travel to Palestine for a competitive match. Courtesy: UAE FA

UAE and Palestine both step into the unknown at 2018 World Cup qualifying showdown

Ali Khaled looks ahead to the UAE's 2018 World Cup qualifier against Palestine and explains why it's a big step into the unknown for both teams.

Ali Khaled

September 07, 2015

Mahdi Ali does not like uncertainty. The UAE coach’s preparations often border on the obsessive; every detail is meticulously covered by his technical team, with nothing left to chance.

On Tuesday night against Palestine at the Faisal Al Husseini International Stadium in Al Ram, West Bank, he will take uncertain steps. A rapidly-improving, dynamic opponent he has never faced before; an artificial pitch; and a passionate, partisan home crowd.

The UAE will experience a 21,000-strong crowd and an atmosphere they have likely never faced against an Arab team.

For the hosts, this joint 2018 World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup qualifier represents the first time they have hosted a match of this stature at the stadium, and against one of the continent’s best teams no less.

PREVIEW: UAE v Palestine, 2018 World Cup qualifier: History will not distract Mahdi Ali's side

Abdel Nasser Barakat, the Palestine manager, hopes the support lifts his team, but his UAE counterpart has a stock answer on the matter.

Before the 2015 Asian Cup semi-final against hosts Australia in January, he reminded those questioning how his team would deal with a partisan home crowd that this group of players had experienced playing in front of 50,000 fans in North Korea, as well as 90,000 at Wembley Stadium when they took on Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics.

Yet this match promises to be as emotionally charged for the Emiratis as it is for the Palestinians, coming just days after 45 Emirati soldiers lost their lives serving their country in Yemen.

While there is little Mahdi Ali can do to control the atmosphere inside the stadium or any other external matters, it is a different story when it comes to the football.

Before arriving in Ramallah, the squad took part in four training sessions on artificial pitches in Amman, with an emphasis on physical intensity and moving the ball forward with speed on the unfamiliar playing surface.

Tactically, the coach has expressed his respect for opponents who have taken huge strides in the past few years, and he paid their skilful midfielders the ultimate compliment by preparing his team to play a high pressing game to deny them the space to showcase their talents.

A draw away from home for will be no bad result. A loss, unthinkable only a few years ago, would represent a major setback for the UAE. Suddenly there would be three teams vying for two qualifying places. That is not the kind of uncertainty Mahdi Ali needs as he looks ahead to next month’s trip to Saudi Arabia.

Things are further complicated by the fact that while the third-place team in Group A will be eliminated from World Cup qualification, it is still an acceptable outcome for Palestine regarding qualifying for the 2019 Asian Cup, something the UAE do not have to take into consideration as hosts.

PALESTINE PLAYERS TO WATCH

Abdallah Jaber

Age: 22

Club: Ahli Al Khalil

The left-back was one of Palestine’s stand-out players at the 2015 Asian Cup, earning praise for holding his own against Keisuke Honda during a 4-0 loss to Japan. Strong in defence and dangerous in attack, Jaber, who plays for the West Bank Premier League champions, has been one of Palestine’s most impressive performers since his debut more than a year ago.

Sameh Maraaba

Age: 23

Club: Hilal Al Quds

Known for two high-profile detentions by Israeli authorities, the skilful midfielder is considered one of Palestine’s most promising players. He scored twice in the 6-0 win over Malaysia after making his debut as a substitute against Saudi Arabia in June.

Tamer Seyam

Age: 23

Club: Thakafi Tulkarm

Part of the team that won the AFC Challenge Cup to earn a place at the 2015 Asian Cup, Seyam, like Maraaba, scored twice against Malaysia last time out, the first a solo effort after beating three defenders. Having scored 18 times for his club last season, he will hope to continue his hot streak for his country tonight.

Pablo Tamburrini

Age: 25

Club: San Luis de Quillota

The midfielder from Chile plays in that country’s top flight. He made his Palestine debut against Saudi Arabia in June and scored in the 3-2 loss. He has brought a scoring threat from midfield to a team that scored once at the Asian Cup.

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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.”