Diego Maradona, the new chairman of Belarus club Dynamo Brest, left, and Valdas Ivanauskas, the club's vice chairman, at a press conference held at Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi. Pawan Singh / The National
Diego Maradona, the new chairman of Belarus club Dynamo Brest, left, and Valdas Ivanauskas, the club's vice chairman, at a press conference held at Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi. Pawan Singh / The National
Diego Maradona, the new chairman of Belarus club Dynamo Brest, left, and Valdas Ivanauskas, the club's vice chairman, at a press conference held at Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi. Pawan Singh / The National
Diego Maradona, the new chairman of Belarus club Dynamo Brest, left, and Valdas Ivanauskas, the club's vice chairman, at a press conference held at Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi. Pawan Singh / Th

Diego Maradona's appointment 'a good deal for everybody' says Dynamo Brest official


John McAuley
  • English
  • Arabic

Diego Maradona’s appointment at Dynamo Brest is "win-win" for the club and Belarusian football, according to their vice-president Valdas Ivanauskas.

The Belarus Premier League side announced earlier this month that they had reached an agreement with Maradona to become their chairman on a three-year deal, with the Argentine officially introduced to the media last week at Emirates Palace hotel.

The World Cup winner, 57, joined Brest only weeks after parting company with Fujairah. Appointed as manager 12 months previously, Maradona failed to guide the First Division club to automatic promotion to the Arabian Gulf League.

The former Argentina national team manager, who also spent 14 months in charge of Dubai’s Al Wasl between 2011 and 2012, will begin his latest role immediately following the upcoming Fifa World Cup, where he is working as a pundit for Venezuelan television.

Ivanauskas would not disclose the financial details of the Maradona deal, but when asked if his new employee’s reputation guaranteed a return for Brest’s investment, he said: “Of course. Everybody has opinions about Diego. For us, it’s just win. We can’t lose. We need to take from Diego his experience. Not just as a player; as a player he’s a legend. But also how he works with the Argentina national team, how he worked here in the Emirates and in other countries. For us it’s the experience. It’s a good deal and everybody is very, very lucky.”

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Diego Maradona will 'definitely take Emirati players' with him to Dynamo Brest

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Ivanauskas said Brest first approached Fujairah late last year to arrange friendlies between the two clubs. However, once Maradona’s departure was confirmed, they moved quickly to secure his services.

Currently eighth in the Belarusian top flight, Brest are seeking to increase their standing in Europe and around the world. On May 19, they retained the Belarusian Cup to progress to the play-offs for the 2018/19 Europa League. The first match of their two-legged qualifier takes place on July 26.

Ivanauskas said Brest have no plans “at this stage” for Maradona to manage the first team, although his remit is to develop all facets of the club from academy level upwards.

“We saw the chance to take Diego, which you have maybe one time in your life, we got him and for us was a very, very big opportunity," Ivanauskas said. "Also for the players and for everybody in Belarus. Diego is the name, Diego is chairman, Diego is boss. And we think the experience he can give them, as a player, a coach, a manager and also an ambassador of the world, is very important for us.”

On Maradona’s declaration that Brest could sign a number of Emirati players, Ivanauskas added: “We welcome that. We were talking with Diego some days ago and he knows exactly our situation with the team and he knows exactly what we need.

“Diego’s thinking about [signing Emiratis], but for now he’s concentrating on our team and also his commitments for the World Cup. We have a little bit of time before the Europa League qualifier, so if Diego says ‘this player can help us’, they’re welcome.”

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Analysis

Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.

The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement. 

We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment. 

 

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo 

 Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua

 Based: Dubai, UAE

 Number of employees: 28

 Sector: Financial services

 Investment: $9.5m

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What is Folia?

Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.

Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."

Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.

In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love". 

There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.

While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."

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Citizenship-by-investment programmes

United Kingdom

The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).

All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.

The Caribbean

Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport. 

Portugal

The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.

“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.

Greece

The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.

Spain

The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.

Cyprus

Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.

Malta

The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.

The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.

Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.

Egypt 

A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.

Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties

RESULTS

Manchester United 2

Anthony Martial 30'

Scott McTominay 90 6' 

Manchester City 0

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Intercontinental Cup

Namibia v UAE Saturday Sep 16-Tuesday Sep 19

Table 1 Ireland, 89 points; 2 Afghanistan, 81; 3 Netherlands, 52; 4 Papua New Guinea, 40; 5 Hong Kong, 39; 6 Scotland, 37; 7 UAE, 27; 8 Namibia, 27

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

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Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

'The Batman'

Stars:Robert Pattinson

Director:Matt Reeves

Rating: 5/5

FA Cup fifth round draw

Sheffield Wednesday v Manchester City
Reading/Cardiff City v Sheffield United
Chelsea v Shrewsbury Town/Liverpool
West Bromwich Albion v Newcastle United/Oxford United
Leicester City v Coventry City/Birmingham City
Northampton Town/Derby County v Manchester United
Southampton/Tottenham Hotspur v Norwich City
Portsmouth v Arsenal 

Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin

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Titanium Escrow profile

Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue  
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family