When the Lionesses (England's women's football team) reigned supreme at Euro 2022 a few weeks ago in front of an ecstatic 87,000-strong crowd at Wembley Stadium, they clinched England’s first major football trophy since the men’s side won the 1966 World Cup.
That success shed light on women’s football in the UK like never before and has renewed hope that the game can finally start to get the attention it deserves.
The Lionesses are just one recent example among many of women in sport outperforming male counterparts, creating history along the way.
It’s particularly inspiring to see this happen in the Arab world, a region full of talent, but one where women often have to overcome cultural barriers in order to pursue a career in sports.
Billie Jean King always says “you have to see it to be it”. Now there is a young generation growing up in the Arab world that is witnessing a host of women athletes pulling off unprecedented achievements on the global stage and shaping up to be incredible role models.
Last October, Tunisian Ons Jabeur became the first ever Arab-born tennis player – man or woman – to break into the top 10 in world rankings.
On June 27, she rose to number two, making her the highest-ranked African woman of all time. She made history again two weeks later when she reached the Wimbledon final, something no Arab player had ever accomplished in the professional era.
Elena Rybakina, the Kazakhstani player who defeated Jabeur in the final, paid tribute to the Tunisian and her pioneering efforts during her victory speech on Wimbledon Centre Court.
“You're an inspiration, not only for the juniors but for everybody,” Rybakina told Jabeur.
Tennis grandee Venus Williams shared similar sentiments 12 months earlier when Jabeur defeated her en route to the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
“You can’t limit her to just inspiring women in the Arab region. She’s inspiring all kinds of women, including me,” said Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one.
Venus’s sister Serena, arguably the greatest WTA player of all time, chose Jabeur to be her doubles partner when she returned to the tour in June after a one-year absence.
With Serena recently announcing she will be ending her professional career at the upcoming US Open, her match with Jabeur in Eastbourne could very well be the last time we witness her on a doubles court.
A humble personality with a great sense of humour and a huge heart, Jabeur has seen her popularity soar in recent months and has shot to national hero status back home.
Upon arrival to Tunisia after Wimbledon, she received the country's National Order of Merit from President Kais Saied, and a few days ago, Jabeur was honoured by Tunisia’s postal service, which created a stamp bearing the 27-year-old’s image to celebrate her trailblazing career.
Arab women have been knocking down stereotypes and hitting new milestones for many decades, but the due recognition hasn’t always followed.
What we’re seeing now is a major shift in perception towards women’s sport in the region, where female athletes are being celebrated and are given wider platforms that will allow them to touch more souls across the Arab world and beyond.
Footballers Farah Jefry of Saudi Arabia and Nouf Al Anzi of UAE both appeared in Adidas commercials alongside superstar Zinedine Zidane, and took part in the launch of the Qatar 2022 World Cup’s official ball.
Support is needed to see women’s sport is as just 'sport', undefined by gender
Egyptian track sprinter Bassant Hemida has become an instant household name after she claimed a historic 100 metre and 200m double at the Mediterranean Games in Oran, Algeria last month.
Her gold medal-winning performances saw her set two Games records and become the first woman from Egypt to top the podium in a track and field event in the history of the competition.
Hemida was received by the Egyptian Armed Forces upon touching down in Cairo, was given a nod from Mohamed Salah, who congratulated her and urged her to “keep breaking records” and turned up on many of the nation’s biggest television talk shows.
Egyptian women also took team gold in table tennis in Oran, with a squad that featured 14-year-old prodigy Hana Goda. The young teen has been in the spotlight for several years now and already has nearly 1 million followers across Facebook and Instagram. Goda was crowned Under-19s African champion last month and is a star in the making.
At the recently concluded World Athletics Championships in Oregon, Tunisian Marwa Bouzayani clocked a personal best of 9:12.14 to qualify for the 3,000m steeplechase final. The 25-year-old took silver at the Mediterranean Games a couple of weeks earlier.
“After winning a medal at the Mediterranean Games in Oran my goals got bigger. I made a promise to myself that I will no longer compete at these high level competitions just to participate. My eyes are on the medals and I will definitely achieve that if the ideal conditions are provided,” wrote Bouzayani on her Instagram.
Swimming sensation Farida Osman bounced back from a disappointing Tokyo Olympics by reaching the finals of the 50m and 100m events at the World Championships last June in Budapest, setting new African records in the process.
Osman, a two-time World Championship bronze medallist, is one of the most recognisable names in women’s sport in Egypt and the Mena region. The star swimmer, six-time squash world champion Nour El Sherbini and top-50 tennis player Mayar Sherif, are among a small group of women that have managed to secure lucrative sponsorship deals rarely given to Arab female athletes in the past.
The landscape is looking positive, but it’s just a start. In order to capitalise on all these individual successes, federations, organisations and the general public must throw their support behind women’s sport and see it as just "sport", undefined by a specific gender.
Give women athletes the proper backing, broadcast their competitions on television, dedicate column inches to them, follow their journeys and you’ll see what they can accomplish; many have already done so much without any of the above. Imagine what they can do with just a little bit more.
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
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.”
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world
New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.
The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.
Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.
“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.
"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."
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Past winners of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
2016 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2014 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2012 Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2011 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2010 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2009 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
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The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
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HOSTS
T20 WORLD CUP
2024: US and West Indies; 2026: India and Sri Lanka; 2028: Australia and New Zealand; 2030: England, Ireland and Scotland
ODI WORLD CUP
2027: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia; 2031: India and
Bangladesh
CHAMPIONS TROPHY
2025: Pakistan; 2029: India
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
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