DUBAI // The chairman of the Pro League has urged clubs to learn from the likes of Barcelona and scout for young foreign talents to develop through their youth systems.
Last season, every club was allowed to keep two foreigners in their Under 18 teams, but none of them made use of it, their primary focus being on the foreign professionals in the first team.
Following a workshop of UAE clubs and sports councils earlier this month, a recommendation has been made to increase that age ceiling to players under 19.
However, Tariq al Tayer, believes that the clubs should be starting with players at a much younger age.
"You have to start earlier, with the U12s and the U14s, and then the player can grow within the system," he said. "That means you have to search for talents. Lionel Messi is a good example. He was picked up at the age of 14 by Barcelona.
"So this is how it should be. It doesn't make sense to bring someone under 18. I believe that is too late.
"The clubs are very busy with their first teams and foreign players, so this is going to take time; things have to settle for them.
"They will have to invest more in academies and schools. Professionalism is not going to come overnight. You have to plan this really well.
"People are doing this at other clubs. We cannot start from zero; we have to learn from other professional clubs. They have done their research and come up with the best equation."
The workshop, attended by officials from 17 clubs and the Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah sports councils, also recommended reverting back to the three-plus-one allowance for foreign professionals. The plus-one must be from an Asian country.
A majority in attendance also agreed to bring down the numbers of registered players from 45 to 35 as it would reduce the financial burden on clubs and increase the changes that all players will get playing time with their teams.
"We now have 45 plus the foreign players, who are three in the first team, two in the reserves and two in the U18s," al Tayer said. "None of the clubs recruited for U18s.
"So now the recommendation is we have 35 players plus the four foreigners, which is the same as the AFC [Asian Champions League] requirement."
He said a reduction in squad size would put "more than 120 players in the market" and "will definitely affect the First Division".
The First Division is the level below the Pro League.
"Players will be able to play and the level should be better than in the current situation," al Tayer said.
A recommendation was also made to increase the number of teams in the Pro League to 14 from the current 12 and the issue will be raised at the Football Association general assembly next month.
If approved, the increase will be implemented from the 2012/13 season.
"My advice is for the clubs to be more active in the general assembly because it is the clubs who will have to make a decision," al Tayer said.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
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EU Russia
The EU imports 90 per cent of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 per cent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil.
How to get exposure to gold
Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.
A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.
Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.
Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.
London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long
However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.
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.
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
UAE%20Warriors%2045%20Results
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
