FUJAIRAH // Ali Rabei, a professional footballer, sits on his sandals in the dirt, his eyes fixed on two half-tonne bulls wrestling before him.
The Al Wahda goalkeeper commutes from Abu Dhabi each weekend to Fujairah, where he shares Friday lunch with his family.
He then joins hundreds of spectators to watch humpbacked Brahman bulls lock horns at bloodless bull-butting competitions beside the Fujairah Corniche.
Mr Rabei is what is known around the arena as "the second generation", consisting of young professionals who are buying into the traditional of bull-butting with their hearts and wallets.
"He's got money, he's got fame, he's got everything," teases Abdulla al Sharqi, Mr Rabei's middle-aged friend. "And what does he do? He buys four bulls."
While Mr Rabei might not be one of the original spectators in the bull-butting arena, he is aware of the tradition behind it. He has been part of the spectacle since he was a boy.
"It is heritage," shrugged the goalie, who spent Dh45,000 (US$12,250) for his bulls. "It starts from when I was young until now. I'm working in Abu Dhabi but in my spare time I'm here."
He is part of a growing group that is investing in the sport for different reasons, from starting a new hobby to becoming more involved in the local culture.
"Every year some new kids come in," said Mr al Sharqi. "It becomes part of the social life. The flash, the fame, that's it.
"Like this guy," he said, pointing to a young man leading a pink and grey bull. "He was a very popular handball player. Now look. He got the bull!"
The contests begin each Friday at sunset. The Brahmans, which have characteristically floppy ears, snort, lock horns and kick dirt inside the arena. If one bull is too strong and risks hurting his rival, men rush into the arena to pull the beasts apart. The bull that pushes his opponent the furthest is the winner.
While a fence and metal barrier surround the arena to stop rogue bulls from running down the street, most spectators still prefer to watch the excitement inside the ring.
Among them is Fujairah's youngest bull owner, Saif Rashid, a 12-year-old who is considered an up-and-coming bull tycoon. He is at an age where he is shy about talking to girls but unafraid of head-butting his bull in training.
"Every day he will go to school, once back to his house to eat and after he will see his bull," said his brother Mohammad al Suwaidi, 26.
Saif's bull is one of 120 competing in a sport increasingly dominated by the young, said Abdulla Ali Kindi, a founding member of the bullfighting committee.
"It's an old habit and tradition in this area, especially along the coast," said Mr Kindi. "We don't have camels here. Camels are in the desert. The one thing here is the bull.
"It started with 25 or 30 owners [in the 1980s] and now it's more than 60 and most are from the young.
"Most the of young guys on this side are the new generation. They bought two or three years ago. It brings them fame, they become very popular."
Bull-butting is not a poor man's sport. Bull care costs as much as Dh5,000 a month for a diet that ranges from simple feeds such as dried grass to more exotic items such as spiced clarified butter, dried fish and mountain honey.
While no money is won in battle, successful bulls increase in value with each victory. The value of an unaggressive or losing bull can fall to a fraction of its original purchase price.
Case in point: Ali Obadi, 42, has worked with bulls since he was nine years old and thought he had a winner in an animal he bought for Dh24,000. The bull proved to be passive in the ring and Mr Obadi is now trying to sell it for Dh4,000.
While the sport is being passed down to a younger generation, it remains an important social gathering for those who established it.
Mohammed al Shari, a commentator whose sharp tongue and quick poetry charmed spectators and riled bull owners for 25 years, still comes to the fights every Friday after being replaced by a younger, more conciliatory Omani a few years ago.
Other veterans of the scene are more concerned about its future than its past.
The site of the arena does not belong to the participants, who might be forced to abandon it some day, as they had to leave the two previous grounds.
"The area is owned by the municipality. There's lots of parking but we don't own this place," Mr Kindi said. "One day we will have to leave it. Lots of old people, they can't see because they are in the back seats. They called the government to make a small, simple stadium. But there's no interest."
azacharias@thenational.ae
Remaining fixtures
- August 29 – UAE v Saudi Arabia, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
- September 5 – Iraq v UAE, Amman, Jordan (venue TBC)
Results:
Men's wheelchair 800m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 1.44.79; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 1.45.88; 3. Isaac Towers (GBR) 1.46.46.
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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (Dirt) | $100,000 | 1,400m
7.40pm: Handicap (T) | $145,000 | 1,000m
8.15pm: Dubawi Stakes Group 3 (D) | $200,000 | 1,200m
8.50pm: Singspiel Stakes Group 3 (T) | $200,000 | 1,800m
9.25pm: Handicap (T) | $175,000 | 1,400m
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Under 19 Cricket World Cup, Asia Qualifier
Fixtures
Friday, April 12, Malaysia v UAE
Saturday, April 13, UAE v Nepal
Monday, April 15, UAE v Kuwait
Tuesday, April 16, UAE v Singapore
Thursday, April 18, UAE v Oman
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Aaron Benjamin, Akasha Mohammed, Alishan Sharafu, Anand Kumar, Ansh Tandon, Ashwanth Valthapa, Karthik Meiyappan, Mohammed Faraazuddin, Rishab Mukherjee, Niel Lobo, Osama Hassan, Vritya Aravind, Wasi Shah
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- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
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3. Hajj
4. Shahada
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What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
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Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
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Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
