Two years before the creation of the UAE's Athletics Federation (UAEAF) in 1976, Ahmed al Kamali - the body's current president - and a handful of like-minded track and field enthusiasts formed an association.
The coming together, just three years after the formation of the country itself, resulted in a group with no authoritative clout. But that was not the objective. Rather, al Kamali's clan of kindred spirits - sharing the urge to establish a vehicle which could govern their universal passion, athletics - simply wanted to get the ball rolling.
Fast forward 35 years, and al Kamali is still driven by that same indeterminable desire and ambition; he is also the UAEAF's sixth president. His mission is to institute professionalism in a previously meandering system; to steer a rudderless ship which, until last year, was so at sea the country was blacklisted by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
Rebuilding the UAE's inter- national reputation, however, required attention far beyond activities on the track itself. First of all, according to al Kamali, the love needed to be put back in.
"When I took over the federation we had no members in the GCC, Arab or Asian bodies. Apart from the technical aspects, we had much administrative work to do," said al Kamali. "If you love it and are interested, you can double up and do a lot of things. But if you are not keen and you don't know how to develop things, then they simply won't happen."
As he strives to evolve domestic athletics, al Kamali is harnessing a lifetime of passion and three and a half decades of knowledge and contacts. He is getting the job done.
"I've worked with every federation president since the beginning, I can name all the coaches, I was an athlete - I think all this has maybe helped me," he said.
"We now have our members in the important committees and can focus on the technical aspects of improving performance. When I started we had two coaches, now we have 12. We are changing everything."
Change, it seems, has been the motto of al Kamali's first 15 months as president. "We are changing the mentality of our staff, our results, our programmes, our behaviour with other federations, our relations with the IAAF and International Olympic Committee - everything. We are moving forward," he said.
Unarguably, al Kamali has changed the course of domestic athletics. He has introduced order, duty and organisation. With key administrative foundations in place, he is now planning for the long term.
It is a working agenda which seeks immediate gains, but within the guidelines of solidifying future momentum. The result is a rigorously selected group of 57 elite athletes, each of whom has a tailored programme. The project's goal is to maximise qualification for the London Olympics in 2012.
"In athletics, you cannot do things quickly. You need many months, years, and it is long process," said al Kamali. "You have to work with the kids and prepare them. We are concentrating on the events where we can do something - we are preparing 57 male athletes in different disciplines."
Despite the implementation of a far-reaching programme designed to increase Olympic medal-winning chances, al Kamali insists raising standards remains the primary objective.
"It's not easy - the whole world is fighting for these medals," he said. "In previous Olympics, our athletes have always been wildcards. Now we are going for qualification.
"We've already created national history by qualifying two athletes for the world championships [in Berlin in August]. That was in our programme. The next step is having four at international standard by 2010, six the year after, and eight for the Olympics. I promise the public six to eight UAE athletes will qualify for London."
It's a long journey, and al Kamali is carefully using hand-picked tools - as well as various local, regional and international championships - to monitor progress.
"There are no shortcuts. We have to make sure our athletes are satisfied and pleasing us, or else we will go into a dark tunnel. It is important to know where we are," he said.
After a 12-medal haul at this year's GCC Games, the UAE's weakened 12-man squad won four medals at last week's Arab Athletics Championships. Next up are two Asian championships, in Vietnam and China, before the end of the year. It's all about building gradually for the Asian Games in 2010, and London two years later.
"Whatever support we need to bring good things to UAE athletics, it is there," said al Kamali. "We have taken the next step and we have the support to keep reaching. Our current team is hungry and they are setting example for the kids to follow."
emegson@thenational.ae
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
Results:
CSIL 2-star 145cm One Round with Jump-Off
1. Alice Debany Clero (USA) on Amareusa S 38.83 seconds
2. Anikka Sande (NOR) For Cash 2 39.09
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) Cash Up 39.42
4. Nadia Taryam (UAE) Askaria 3 39.63
5. Miriam Schneider (GER) Fidelius G 47.74
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
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