Football has been a passion for Emiratis since long before the country was formed, and the first club, Al Nasr, was founded in 1945.
British soldiers practised with local teams on uneven pitches and scholars who studied abroad brought back their favourite past -time, helping to spread the popularity of the game.
Now it falls on the UAE Football Association to make sure the sport stays prominent in the country's consciousness. Established in 1971, the FA joined the Fifa, the world governing body, a year later.
Mohammed Khalfan Al Rumaithi, former president of the FA, said the organisation's goal was to popularise the sport across the country and get more people involved in age-group competition.
The numbers are not high; only about 4,000 players are in the national system. This, he said, is proportional to the number of Emiratis in the country. Only nationals are eligible to play for the UAE at any age level.
Mr Al Rumaithi said that since 2007, financial support from the Government has increased by Dh51 million to Dh57m. The money goes towards the development of the National UAE age group teams. Since the infusion of cash, the national team have gone from a ranking of 100 in the world in 2007 to 96 in 2012.
"Football in the most popular game worldwide, and it's no exception here," Mr Al Romaithi said. "In that context, football can be played easily anywhere, be it in fields, streets, neighbourhoods or beaches.
Football fans across the country have agreed that their sport is the most popular among their compatriots. And while many play as well as spectate, most agreed it is not an ideal career path.
"Football is the most entertaining sport that you can enjoy either by watching or playing it," said Saeed Salem, 20, a fan of Al Ain FC. "It shows art and creativity at the same time. I started watching it at four-years-old and got addicted to it as I grew up. I don't find other sports as entertaining as football."
Mr Salem said becoming a professional footballer was out of his hands: "I would have had to have my family's approval from a young age to take it as a serious career, which meant abandoning my studies. My family would not have approved."
Hassan Eissa, another Al Ain fan, said football increases in popularity because it dominates in financial and media support.
"In addition, football pitches and stadiums are all over the UAE and can be found easily," he said.
Some fans made the distinction between team sport and individual sport. While shooting with a gun, for example, has brought the UAE international attention at the Olympics, the appeal of shooting with football is that it's a team effort.
Saeed Al Ameri, 27, pointed out how a successful team can represent the country, flying the flag in front of the world.
A key factor is getting Emiratis interested at a young age.
Essam Abduallah Al Ali, general supervisor for Al Ain FC academy, said there were about 150 young players in his organisation.
"Most of them join to play football because of the popularity of the game, the ease of playing it, the ease of being successful at it, and the raw talent in the game," he said.
It is one of the most common games in the world, said Saood Al Ali, 23, a fan of Al Wahda. "People can communicate by playing, even if they are from different cultures and speak different languages."
newsdesk@thenational.ae
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
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.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
THE SPECS
Range Rover Sport Autobiography Dynamic
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 518bhp
Torque: 625Nm
Speed: 0-100kmh 5.3 seconds
Price: Dh633,435
On sale: now
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Los Angeles, from Dh4,975 return, including taxes. The flight time is 16 hours. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and Southwest all fly direct from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo from Dh1,243 return, including taxes. The flight time is two-and-a-half hours.
The trip
Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic’s eight-day Whales Wilderness itinerary costs from US$6,190 (Dh22,736) per person, twin share, including meals, accommodation and excursions, with departures in March and April 2018.
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Avengers: Endgame
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
4/5 stars
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”