The UAE is fast becoming a global hub for major sporting events, offering something for every fan. From the high-octane Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix and SailGP to the competitive World Tennis League and Fiba 3x3, there's no shortage of world-class action.
Whether you're a motorsport enthusiast or a MMA fanatic, here are some coming events in the Emirates to look forward to.
UFC 308, October 26 at Etihad Arena
UFC will return with co-main event fights. The headline bout will see featherweight champion Ilia Topuria defend his title against Max Holloway, while the co-main event features No 3-ranked Robert Whittaker facing off against No 11-ranked Khamzat Chimaev in a five-round contest. Additionally, there are three more matches on the main card.
Tickets are sold out
Fiba 3x3 World Tour Abu Dhabi, October 26 and 27 at Abu Dhabi Corniche
A specially constructed arena on the Corniche will host the basketball event, featuring 14 international teams and one local team competing in the 3x3 tournament. The tournament will also showcase recent Paris Olympic medallists.
Tickets are Dh25
Dubai Premier Padel P1, November 3 to 10 at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Centre, Al Garhoud
Some of the world’s top padel players, including international stars like Arturo Coello, Ariana Sanchez Fallada and Juan Lebron Chincoa will head to Dubai for the week-long championship that has a prize pool of Dh1.8 million in the men’s and women’s categories.
Tickets start at Dh60
The HSBC Golf Championship, November 7 to 10 at Yas Links
The fourth Rolex Series event of the season, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship will feature Olympic silver medallist Tommy Fleetwood, along with former world number ones Adam Scott and Justin Rose. As part of the new DP World Tour Play-Offs, the event welcomes the top 70 players from the Race to Dubai Rankings, following the Genesis Korea Championship.
General admission tickets are free
DP World Tour Championship, November 14 to 17, Jumeirah Golf Estates
Billy Horschel, who recently claimed his second PGA Championship title, will tee it up alongside Major Champions Shane Lowry, Justin Rose and Adam Scott and fellow Rolex Series winner Robert MacIntyre, who won the Scottish Open in July. Reigning Race to Dubai champion Rory McIlroy and fellow Ryder Cup star Tommy Fleetwood will also tee off.
General admission for Thursday and Friday is free, while Saturday and Sunday early bird tickets start at Dh90
SailGP Dubai, November 22 to 24, Dubai Marina
The Sail Grand Prix season will launch when 11 teams take part in five fleet races across two days, before a winner-takes-all, three-boat final on the second day. The winner of the final is named event champion and awarded 10 points in the Championship Leaderboard, which is added to a cumulative season total.
Tickets start at Dh330
Emirates Dubai 7s, November 29 to December 1, Seven Stadium
The Dubai 7s is an annual rugby event held at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai. It was founded in 1970, making the event the longest-running sports event in the Middle East. The Dubai 7s has six competitions each year including the World Rugby Sevens Series and the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series. This year Stormzy and Sugababes will perform as part of the event.
Tickets start at Dh425
Fim Supercross World Championship, December 4 at Etihad Arena
The season finale of the Fim World Supercross Championship will take place in Abu Dhabi. Two world champions will be crowned. Additionally, those who get tickets for the championship will also get access to the first day of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Thursday, including the after-race concert with Teddy Swims and Peggy Gou.
Tickets start at Dh95
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, December 5 to 8 at Yas Marina Circuit
Various packages and passes available
World Tennis League, December 19 to 22 at Etihad Arena
Some of the top tennis players in the world will return to the UAE as the World Tennis League unveiled a star-studded line-up of players for the third season. This includes US Open winner Aryna Sabalenka and World No 1 Iga Swiatek, who secured bronze at the Paris Olympics as well as a third consecutive French Open title earlier this year.
This year's Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova and women’s doubles Paris Olympics gold medalist Jasmine Paolini will be making their debut. Among the male stars, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Sumit Nagal and Aussie star Nick Kyrgios will also return.
Tickets start at Dh50
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.
Al Jazira's foreign quartet for 2017/18
Romarinho, Brazil
Lassana Diarra, France
Sardor Rashidov, Uzbekistan
Mbark Boussoufa, Morocco
READ MORE ABOUT CORONAVIRUS
Oppenheimer
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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More on Turkey's Syria offence
Find the right policy for you
Don’t wait until the week you fly to sign up for insurance – get it when you book your trip. Insurance covers you for cancellation and anything else that can go wrong before you leave.
Some insurers, such as World Nomads, allow you to book once you are travelling – but, as Mr Mohammed found out, pre-existing medical conditions are not covered.
Check your credit card before booking insurance to see if you have any travel insurance as a benefit – most UAE banks, such as Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, have cards that throw in insurance as part of their package. But read the fine print – they may only cover emergencies while you’re travelling, not cancellation before a trip.
Pre-existing medical conditions such as a heart condition, diabetes, epilepsy and even asthma may not be included as standard. Again, check the terms, exclusions and limitations of any insurance carefully.
If you want trip cancellation or curtailment, baggage loss or delay covered, you may need a higher-grade plan, says Ambareen Musa of Souqalmal.com. Decide how much coverage you need for emergency medical expenses or personal liability. Premium insurance packages give up to $1 million (Dh3.7m) in each category, Ms Musa adds.
Don’t wait for days to call your insurer if you need to make a claim. You may be required to notify them within 72 hours. Gather together all receipts, emails and reports to prove that you paid for something, that you didn’t use it and that you did not get reimbursed.
Finally, consider optional extras you may need, says Sarah Pickford of Travel Counsellors, such as a winter sports holiday. Also ensure all individuals can travel independently on that cover, she adds. And remember: “Cheap isn’t necessarily best.”
Under-21 European Championship Final
Germany 1 Spain 0
Weiser (40')
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
The years Ramadan fell in May
