You know we are living in strange times when a mob of Millwall fans are the good guys. But that is what happened in London one night this week.
As gangs of masked looters swarmed over the capital, outnumbering the helpless police, scores of the club's supporters banded together to protect the shops and businesses in their local "manor" of Eltham.
In a rare moment of comedy during a grim week, the traditional Millwall chant of "No one likes us!" was replaced by "No one loots us!"
It was a minor incident, but one which might allow the English football family a secret glow of inner smugness. When it comes to public disorder, it is a family that rarely has much to be proud of.
Football's peacemaking efforts did not stop with the deputy sheriffs of Millwall county. The players joined in, too, albeit with breathtaking hypocrisy in some cases.
Manchester United's Wayne Rooney asked why people would wreck their own community as he pleaded for calm via Twitter. Because Rooney has never pressed the self-destruct button close to home, has he?
Joey Barton, Newcastle United's renowned pacifist, called for rioters to be educated and quoted the Dalai Lama: "You must not consider tolerance and patience to be signs of weakness, I consider them signs of strength." Tell that to the teenager he beat up outside McDonalds.
And Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, whose peacemaking skills were caught on CCTV during that bar brawl which landed him in court, appealed for an end to the violence in his home city.
When footballers are dishing out lectures in self-restraint, you know that society has changed.
As if to emphasise this reversal of fortune, football did not just clamour for calm but revelled in its new-found status as the victim, rather than the source, of mindless violence.
When Wednesday's match between England and Holland was cancelled due to safety fears, for example, the home players were wheeled out for a media photocall looking suitably crestfallen, even though they usually do everything they can to avoid friendlies.
And the Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp's response to the cancelling of today's match against Everton was equally emotional, with the loveable old duffer seeming to suggest that public disorder would not take place if young men wore blazers and trousers, not these new-fangled "jeans with their backsides hanging out".
Yes, all in all, football's PR men may consider this a great week for the game - a week in which it finally shed its violent past and stood on the side of the righteous. Britain may still be plagued by mindless yobs, they might think, but they are no longer our mindless yobs.
Frankly, I do not believe that football's hands are as clean as it would like to think. It may not spark the violence like it did in the past, but it has helped to fuel a seething class war between the haves and the have nots.
On Tuesday night, coincidentally the height of the violence, Sky Sports broadcast a self-congratulatory documentary marking 20 years since the conception of the Premier League.
The Night Football Changed Forever documented a slap-up meal, held in November 1991 and attended by various television and football executives, which saw an agreement that television income should no longer be shared equally across the 92 league clubs, but given mainly to the biggest clubs.
Some would say, correctly, that this was a major catalyst for the crushing of football hooliganism: the new image and cash flood enabled clubs to create safer stadiums and a better product that appealed to women, families and a better class of fan.
That transformation was undoubtedly a good thing. Hooliganism was dangerous, ugly and terrifying. However, let us not forget that the Premier League was founded on the cold, hard principle of selfishness.
Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton and Spurs did a deal to improve their lot at the expense of smaller clubs. It was a deal which priced poorer supporters, including the well-behaved ones, out of the game they loved.
It was a deal that saw players become separated from their communities, their spiralling wages taking them from the nicer suburbs of town into gated villas with private security guards.
It was a deal which encouraged foreign mercenaries to shuttle between clubs without loyalty.
It was a deal which enabled young heroes to flaunt obscene wealth via the cult of bling: supercars, designer labels and wads of cash.
It was a deal that sanitised the atmosphere of match days but helped to pollute our everyday culture into a ruthless celebration of wealth and power above all else, including a sense of community and respect. This week, England tasted the bitter fruits of that culture, and there is nothing football can do about it - apart from maybe posting a posse of Millwall fans on every street corner.
The Premier League is nearly 20 years old. Is it just coincidence, I wonder, that so were most of the looters.
sports@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
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The biog
Name: Maitha Qambar
Age: 24
Emirate: Abu Dhabi
Education: Master’s Degree
Favourite hobby: Reading
She says: “Everyone has a purpose in life and everyone learns from their experiences”
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
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Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
Score
New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs
New Zealand win by 47 runs
New Zealand lead three-match ODI series 1-0
Next match: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, Friday
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.”
8 UAE companies helping families reduce their carbon footprint
Greenheart Organic Farms
This Dubai company was one of the country’s first organic farms, set up in 2012, and it now delivers a wide array of fruits and vegetables grown regionally or in the UAE, as well as other grocery items, to both Dubai and Abu Dhabi doorsteps.
www.greenheartuae.com
Modibodi
Founded in Australia, Modibodi is now in the UAE with waste-free, reusable underwear that eliminates the litter created by a woman’s monthly cycle, which adds up to approximately 136kgs of sanitary waste over a lifetime.
www.modibodi.ae
The Good Karma Co
From brushes made of plant fibres to eco-friendly storage solutions, this company has planet-friendly alternatives to almost everything we need, including tin foil and toothbrushes.
www.instagram.com/thegoodkarmaco
Re:told
One Dubai boutique, Re:told, is taking second-hand garments and selling them on at a fraction of the price, helping to cut back on the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of clothes thrown into landfills each year.
www.shopretold.com
Lush
Lush provides products such as shampoo and conditioner as package-free bars with reusable tins to store.
www.mena.lush.com
Bubble Bro
Offering filtered, still and sparkling water on tap, Bubble Bro is attempting to ensure we don’t produce plastic or glass waste. Founded in 2017 by Adel Abu-Aysha, the company is on track to exceeding its target of saving one million bottles by the end of the year.
www.bubble-bro.com
Coethical
This company offers refillable, eco-friendly home cleaning and hygiene products that are all biodegradable, free of chemicals and certifiably not tested on animals.
www.instagram.com/coethical
Eggs & Soldiers
This bricks-and-mortar shop and e-store, founded by a Dubai mum-of-four, is the place to go for all manner of family products – from reusable cloth diapers to organic skincare and sustainable toys.
www.eggsnsoldiers.com
Coming 2 America
Directed by: Craig Brewer
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones
3/5 stars
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
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- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
