West Ham's Herita Ilunga holds off West Brom's James Morrison during Saturday's Premier League game, the first time since the league was formed in 1992 that neither side had a shirt sponsor.
West Ham's Herita Ilunga holds off West Brom's James Morrison during Saturday's Premier League game, the first time since the league was formed in 1992 that neither side had a shirt sponsor.

United grin and bear it



Manchester United are happy that they will keep on their AIG-emblazoned shirts despite the near collapse of the insurance giant. There were fears that AIG would follow the major financial company Lehman Brothers into liquidation after their shares crashed more than 60 per cent on Tuesday, leading to an overall loss of 93 per cent of their value in a year.

The US Government, however, stepped in to rescue AIG from what could have been the biggest bankruptcy in American history with a loan of US$85billion (Dh213bn) in exchange for an 80 per cent stake in the company. Manchester United have a £56.5 million (Dh372m) four-year sponsorship deal with AIG, which was signed at the start of the 2006-2007 season, and the English and European champions are confident the company will be able to fulfil their commitment to the agreement.

"It is business as usual for us," said a spokesman for the Glazer family, who own the club. "Manchester United are financially strong. We have not been adversely affected by the credit crunch." United's deal with AIG, the biggest shirt sponsorship in the game's history, was signed in April 2006 after Vodafone terminated their £9m-a-year deal at short notice. The "credit crunch" and financial uncertainty in the world markets have already claimed one victim in the Premier League. West Ham lost their shirt sponsorship last week when the holiday company XL Leisure Group went into administration.

The Hammers had signed a three-year deal with XL in July 2007 worth £2.5m-a-year. West Bromwich Albion are also without shirt sponsors, and when they faced West Ham on Saturday, it was the first time since the Premier League began in 1992 that the teams were without a shirt sponsor. An uncertain future lies ahead for the up-for -sale Newcastle United - whose owner Mike Ashley was in Dubai yesterday attempting to broker a sale of the club - as well.

They have a shirt sponsorship deal with Northern Rock bank, who were taken into state ownership in February this year. There have been calls to end the agreement as British taxpayers are effectively paying. There are other clubs in the Premier League who face the prospect of losing their sponsors as one of the worst financial crisis in recent history unfolds. Manchester United, however, are on a strong financial footing, with their pulling power in the Asian and Middle East markets.

Drew Barrand, head of media with analysts Sport Industry Group, suggested the collapse of AIG could even have been good for them. "Because of the global appeal they have, you could say they wouldn't have minded if the deal had been terminated," he said. "It would have allowed them to negotiate for a new deal that could have earned them more." arizvi@thenational.ae

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.

Company%20Profile
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The specs: 2018 Audi RS5

Price, base: Dh359,200

Engine: 2.9L twin-turbo V6

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 450hp at 5,700rpm

Torque: 600Nm at 1,900rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The biog

DOB: March 13, 1987
Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon
School: ACS in Lebanon
University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
MSA in Design Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts in New York City
Nationality: Lebanese
Status: Single
Favourite thing to do: I really enjoy cycling, I was a participant in Cycling for Gaza for the second time this year

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

BULKWHIZ PROFILE

Date started: February 2017

Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: E-commerce 

Size: 50 employees

Funding: approximately $6m

Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait

The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Super 30

Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5

Company%20Profile
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Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
THE%20SWIMMERS
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Kanye%20West
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Abandon
Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay
Translated by Arunava Sinha
Tilted Axis Press 

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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)

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Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

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Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4

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Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID

Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight

In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

Price: From Dh2,099

AIR
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ETFs explained

Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.

ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.

There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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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

The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

'HIJRAH%3A%20IN%20THE%20FOOTSTEPS%20OF%20THE%20PROPHET'
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Players Selected for La Liga Trials

U18 Age Group
Name: Ahmed Salam (Malaga)
Position: Right Wing
Nationality: Jordanian

Name: Yahia Iraqi (Malaga)
Position: Left Wing
Nationality: Morocco

Name: Mohammed Bouherrafa (Almeria)
Position: Centre-Midfield
Nationality: French

Name: Mohammed Rajeh (Cadiz)
Position: Striker
Nationality: Jordanian

U16 Age Group
Name: Mehdi Elkhamlichi (Malaga)
Position: Lead Striker
Nationality: Morocco


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