d ert es challenge (www.abudhabidesert
challenge.com) brings top rally drivers to
the UAE from around the world in March.
There are several smaller rallies in
February and March, including the 1000
Dunes Rally and the Spring Desert Rally,
which are both 4WD events. Visit EMSF’s
website for details.
UAE F OOTBALL
On winter weeknights, neighbourhood
stadiums in Dubai are packed with up to
10,000 spectators – mostly young Emirati
men – passionately barracking for their
favourite football teams. Surprisingly,
most foreigners (expats or visitors) hardly
attend the matches. And they’re rarely
covered by the local English-language
press. If you’re a football fan, attend a
match once and you may be hooked – the
carnival atmosphere is electric. Fans dress
up in colour-coordinated outfits, and a
singer and band of drummers lead song
and dance routines to inspire their teams.
Founded in 1973, the United Arab Emir-
ates (UAE) football league was renamed
UAE Premier Division for the 2009/10
season and consists of a dozen teams. Tem-
pers may flare during matches between
the old rivals: Al-Ahli, Sheikh Moham-
med’s red-and-white jersey team, and the
purple-clad Al-Ain. Dubai-based Al-Ahli
also represented the UAE in the 2009 FIFA
Club World Cup, held in Abu Dhabi, losing
0-2 to Auckland City in their only game. In
the 2010 FIFA club tournament, the Abu
Dhabi–based Al-Wahda team represented
the UAE.
If you would like to attend a football
match, check the http://www.dubaifootball.com
and http://www.football7s.com websites, which
include schedules and venues of upcoming
matches. You can purchase tickets via these
sites or from the dedicated ticket agencies
listed in the Need to Know section.
R GBYU
Dubai’s rugby club, d bai u exiles rugby
club (www.dubaiexiles.com), has been head-
quartered at a slick new stadium called
The Sevens, located about 30 minutes
outside Dubai on the Al-Ain Rd. The
Exiles are a founding member of the
Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union and
put on one of Dubai’s biggest sporting
events, the d bai u rugby sevens (www
.dubairugby7s.com), an annual three-day
event featuring 16 international squads
held in November or December.
c mpetition o sports calendard ai Marathonub (www.dubaimarathon.org)
Sweat it out in January with thousands of other
runners or just cheer ’em on during this popular
street race with a prize fund of a million dollars. in
2010, haile Gebrselassie won the race for the third
year in a row. less-energetic types can enter a
10km run or a 3km ‘fun run’.
d ai ub desert classic (www.dubaidesert
classic.com) The golfing elite, including rory
Mcilroy and henrik Stenson, comes to town for
this fine February event, held at the emirates
Golf Club (p116). There have been some thrilling
finishes over the past couple of years – the 18th
hole has become legendary on the pGa circuit.
d ai Tennis ub championships (www.dubai
tennischampionships.com) big-name players like
Serena Williams and novak Djokovic volley away at
this two-week pro event in February at the aviation
Club (p62). The women play in the first week, men
in the second. it’s a big opportunity to see some
great hitting in a relatively small stadium.
d ai World ub cup (www.dubaiworldcup.com)
racing season culminates in March with the
world’s richest horse race, now held at the Meydan
racecourse (p89). prize money rings up at a
record-holding uS$10 million. While there’s no
betting, this is the city’s biggest social event, with
local society women sporting the silliest hats this
side of ascot. Godolphin, the stable owned by
Dubai’s royal family, tends to dominate proceed-
ings on the racetrack.bai du rugby sevens (www.dubairugby7s.com)
held in november or December, this is the first
round of the eight-leg international rugby board
Sevens World Series. The three-day event features
16 international squads, various amateur teams
and live entertainment. up to 150,000 spectators
make the pilgrimage to the spanking-new ‘The
Sevens’ stadium, about 30 minutes south of Sheikh
Zayed rd on the al-ain rd. book well ahead.
d bai World u championship Golf Tourna-
ment (www.dubaiworldchampionship.com) This
major new golfing championship in november is
the crowning tournament of the race to Dubai. it
pits the pGa european Tour’s top players against
each other in 49 tournaments in 26 destinations
over the course of one year. held since 2008/9,
it replaced the european Tour order of Merit and
comes with a purse of uS$7.5 million. it’s played on
the new Jumeirah Golf estates, which will eventually
consist of four courses designed by Greg norman,
Sergio Garcia, Vijay Singh and pete Dye.Plany
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