Education

Dubai Schools Football Cup to become yearly event

Dubai Sports Council and management consultants Inspiratus have signed a memorandum of understanding for the Dubai Schools Football Cup to continue for another five years.

Nadeem Hanif

March 03, 2014

DUBAI // A youth football competition that saw thousands of children take part will now become an annual fixture in the emirate’s sports calendar.

Dubai Sports Council and management consultants Inspiratus have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the tournament to continue for another five years.

The inaugural event this year saw 2,000 children and 100 teams from 50 public and private schools in Dubai take part over several weeks.

The winning teams from the four age categories will now get the chance to watch Premier League champions Manchester United play at their home ground, Old Trafford.

“The tournament has far exceeded our expectations and vision to bring the Dubai youth community together and help nurture in our youth qualities that are key to their future development, namely leadership, humility, collaboration and adaptability,” said Hussein Murad, Dubai Schools Football Cup president and chief executive of Inspiratus.

“We had to find a way to make it permanent and I am so proud that we were able to now have the tournament on an annual basis.”

The tournament was played on the grounds of Dubai Sports City under the watchful eye of former Real Madrid player Michel Salgado, the director of the competition.

The cup was also organised with Dubai Education Zone and the Princess Haya Initiative for the Development of Health.

“The Dubai Schools Football Cup has set the bar high for youth sports in Dubai,” said Ahmed Al Sharif, secretary general of Dubai Sports Council.

“The MOU we signed today with our partners Inspiratus reflects the Dubai Sports Council’s commitment to the development of a distinguished sporting community in Dubai.

“It also offers a world-class opportunity for our youth to develop their sporting talents and aptitudes, while fostering a love of physical activity, which is an important step to the development of a healthy lifestyle.”

The grand prize for the winning teams – under 16s boys’ champions Lycee Francais International George Pompidou, under 13s boys’ champions Dubai National School, and St Mary’s Catholic School, which won both the girls’ under 16s and under 13s tournaments – will be a flight to the UK on an all-expenses paid trip in April.

Their two-day excursion will include a special training clinic with Manchester United coaches at Old Trafford training ground.

The following day, they will attend a Premier League match at Old Trafford.

For more information visit www.dubaischoolsfc.com

nhanif@thenational.ae

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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.”