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Gulf News | Saturday, October 11, 2014 | gulfnews.com HHgulfnews.com | Saturday, October 11, 2014 | Gulf News
AbuDhabi
T
he United Arab Emir-
ates’ status as a bur-
geoning global centre
of sport has been un-
derscored by its host-
ing of high-profile events such
as the Formula One Etihad
Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis
Championships.
Such showpieces, which at-
tract the cream of the planet’s
sporting talent to the Emirates,
are shining examples of the un-
relenting drive of the country’s
rulers to put a small country
with big dreams on the world-
wide map.
It’s a towering ambition
which also courses through the
veins of many UAE-based grass-
roots sports officials, like Dustin
Cherniawski, general manager
of the Emirates American Foot-
ball League.
The Canadian has overseen
the impressive growth of the
league in two years, with a pro-
jected 500 athletes set to take
part in the 2014/15 season un-
der the tutelage of 52 volunteer
coaches.
So how did a game, which
originated in 1869 in the United
States and which is a combina-
tion of rugby and football, be-
come a hit in the UAE?
Cherniawski said: “I played
professionalfootballin theCana-
dian Football League (CFL) with
the Saskatchewan Roughriders
from 2005-07. We won the Grey
Cup championship in 2007 in
Toronto in front of 52,000 fans.
“I retired in 2008 and moved
to Dubai to work in green tech-
nology and leave football be-
hind me. In 2011, I hooked up
with husband/wife combo of
Patrick Campos and Julie Tep-
erow from the now-defunct
American Football Academy,
which had a struggling youth
programme going at the time.
We joined forces in 2012.”
Of the reason for the growing
popularity of the league, which
features Abu Dhabi Wildcats,
Al Ain Desert Foxes, Dubai Bar-
racudas and Dubai Stallions,
Cherniawski said: “The league’s
successful because we are au-
thentic. From practice balls to
game jerseys, and referees to
cheerleaders, everything we do
is authentic.
“I think that resonates with
people. The National Foot-
ball League (NFL) is the most
watched sport in the world,
based on average attendance,
because it’s entertaining for the
whole family. We bring that same
attitude with us each game day.”
Other emirates
The unstinting success of the
EAFL could see it spread to oth-
er emirates in the UAE soon, he
added.
Cherniawski said: “A Sharjah-
based team has been envisaged
since the league’s inception and
looks certain to become real-
ity soon. There are even devel-
opmental programmes starting
up in the northern emirates of
Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah,
both led by former EAFL players.
Gridiron looks certain to feature
on the country’s sporting land-
scape for many years to come.”
The all-inclusive nature and
wide reach of the EAFL — a mi-
crocosm of the UAE itself — are
exemplified by the fact that 43
nationalities are represented by
players as young as eight and as
old as 50. Approximately 30 per
cent of the players had never
previously played the sport be-
fore signing up and Cherniawski
and his staff warmly welcome
them — “our mission is to have
more people playing football”.
But is it just another expatri-
ate-centric sporting operation,
or are Emiratis also showing an
interest?
“We have a small percentage
of Emiratis — currently fewer
than 12,” Cherniawski said.
“This is a group we hope will
take an interest in American
football and, hopefully, become
coaches in the EAFL for the next
generation of athletes.”
A totemic figure for Emiratis
in this respect is Cherniawski’s
business partner and member of
the Sharjah ruling family, Shai-
kh Khalid Saud Al Qasimi, who
plays for the Dubai Barracudas.
Cherniawski also does not
rule out the possibility of one
day forming an Emirati national
team. “You would need at least
30 players to make a national
team,” he said. “However, it’s
not an unrealistic goal. Emiratis
tend to be very quick learners
and make excellent athletes.
“We hope to see an Emirati
national team develop through
our league in five years. The key
to that is awareness.”
Professionalism
Yet also intrinsic to such a
grandiose goal is continual im-
provement and a ceaseless com-
mitment to professionalism.
These are practices which
Cherniawski and his team pride
themselves on, the league supre-
mo pointing out that the EAFL
has implemented new features
this season to embellish an al-
ready flourishing operation.
He said: “We have just invest-
ed in a professional-grade sys-
tem for keeping top-notch sta-
tistics. Our game-day stats crew
will be on the sidelines each
game recording stats in real-
time, which are available online,
with game reports released after
each game.
“This year, we offer Discover
Football for ages five to eight,
which is non-contact and non-
competitive skills and drills.”
In keeping with the aim of
furnishing an authentic Ameri-
can Football experience, cheer-
leaders have been recruited to
provide a splash of colour and
glamour. Cherniawski said:
“Cheer Dubai is our sister pro-
gramme in Dubai and accepts
anybody aged 18-plus. There are
programmes available for the
young cheerleaders.
Yet people power can only
drive the league so far, and
therefore Cherniawski says he
and his staff are seeking corpo-
rate partners and sponsors to
propel it to even greater heights.
‘An Emirati team in 5 years’
Emirates American Football League sets ambitious targets
By Euan Reedie
Chief Sports Writer
— Abu Dhabi
Booming
■■ At least 43
nationalities
are repre-
sented in
the EAFL by
players as
young as eight
and as old as
50.
Courtesy: Organisers
Abu Dhabi
Y
oung UAE
sportsmen have
been urged to
join a thriving lo-
cal American football
league and help realise
an ambitious dream to
form the sport’s first
Emirati national team.
Emirates Ameri-
can Football League
(EAFL) player Shaikh
Khalid Saud Al Qasimi,
a member of the Shar-
jah ruling family, told
Gulf News he was opti-
mistic such a lofty goal
was possible follow-
ing the “phenomenal”
success of the venture
in just two years.
The brainchild of Canadian businessman Dustin Cher-
niawski, the EAFL will this season involve a projected
500 athletes of more than 40 different nationalities play-
ing for four senior teams and various junior outfits, but
only a handful of UAE nationals such as Al Qasimi.
Despite this, Cherniawski insisted to Gulf News that an
Emirati national team could be a possibility within five
years due to UAE nationals’ innate athletic prowess and
the fact that they are “quick learners”.
Shaikh Khalid heartily backed this assertion when he
said: “Five years is a long [time]. However, what Dus-
tin and the whole team at the EAFL have accomplished
within the two years of inception has been phenomenal.
We already have an amazing group of men and women
who help make this league exciting and make sure all the
players, parents, and spectators have a memorable ex-
perience.
“In terms of an Emirati team, this would be a huge
achievement and something I believe we can do. Every
season gets bigger and better and we get a lot of new
players, including Emiratis, so we are on the right track
in achieving such a feat.”
The 28-year-old, who plays as a tight-end for Dubai
Barracudas in the league and who only took up the sport
during his university days in Sharjah said some Emira-
tis may feel they do not possess the “right strength, right
speed or right physique” for the sport.
However, he stressed: “American football always has
something for anyone, no matter who you are. It is not
just about playing the sport, it’s about building your
character and making you a better person through dif-
ferent emotions and obstacles. It’s an experience that
they [Emiratis] will never forget, guaranteed.”
‘UAE national team is
something we can do’
By Euan Reedie
Chief Sports Writer — Abu Dhabi
Courtesy: Organisers
Shaikh Khalid Saud
Al Qasimi
Courtesy: Organisers
The real deal
■■ From practice balls to game jerseys and referees, the EAFL
says it wants the ‘authentic’ American football experience.
How to join
Can anyone join the league?
No experience is necessary.
More than 40 nationalities are
represented in the EAFL.
Who are the teams?
Abu Dhabi Wildcats (the
current champions), Dubai
Barracudas, Dubai Stallions
and Al Ain Desert Foxes.
The main teams play in the
Men’s Division, for athletes
aged 18-plus.Then there is the
Varsity Division for those aged
15 to 18,JuniorVarsity for 12
to 14-year-olds and PeeWee
League for children between
the ages of nine and 11.
When does the season
take place?
It runs from September
14 to March 14 with a winter
break.The league accepts new
players untilJanuary 18.
Where are the games and
training sessions held?
Zayed Sports City in Abu
Dhabi, Dubai Sports City and
Al Ain International School.
When are training ses-
sions and games held?
They are twice a week
for two hours,with most
teams practising on Sunday
and Tuesday.Youths train at
5.30pm and Men at 8pm.
Games are on Fridays. PeeWee
andJr.Varsity players play
every week (a 10-game sea-
son) and Varsity and Men play
every otherweek.
Howcan I find out more
and possiblyjoin up?
Visit www.eafl.ae,www.
facebook.com/emiratesameri-
canfootballleague or email
info.eafl.ae.
snapshot
emirati involvement
ADOR confident as race start looms
Abu Dhabi crew and boat are ‘in great shape’ for ninth-month, round-the world volvo ocean race
Abu Dhabi
A
bu Dhabi Ocean
Racing (ADOR) em-
bark on the gruel-
ling ninth-month,
round-the-world
Volvo Ocean Race today in
confident spirits as their boat
Azzam and crew are in the
best possible shape.
Skipper Ian Walker and
his seven crew members are
due to set sail from Alicante,
Spain, for the first, 6,400-mile
(10,299km) leg of the epic race
to Cape Town, South Africa.
They will then head to Abu
Dhabi, where they will stop
over on January 2 and 3 next
year, with the event finishing
on June 27, 2015, with a final
in-port race in Gothenburg,
Sweden.
‘Servicing the boat’
“The bottom of the boat has
never been in better shape, so
speed hopefully won’t be an
issue,” shore team manager,
Guy Barron said yesterday
“Over the last 10 days we’ve
been really putting the work
in, servicing the boat, making
sure everything is in perfect
working order.”
While Azzam is racing, Bar-
ron and his team will follow
the race closely online for any
sign of equipment failure.
He added: “It’s nerve-
racking watching the tracker
to make sure the boat is not
breaking. If something breaks,
you know we won’t be sleep-
ing and we’ll be thinking
about it just as much as the
sailors on-board.”
Azzam came through the
Alicante in-port race with fly-
ing colours when it finished
second behind US-based Team
Alvimedica, while the crew
were put through their paces
by team trainer Pete Cunning-
ham. He flew in from the Unit-
ed States to oversee daily gym
sessions and also prepared the
crew’s nutrition packs for the
leg to Cape Town.
Peak physical shape
Cunningham said Walker
and co are now in peak physi-
cal shape.
He said: “In one-design
racing, there’s very little you
can change on the boat. But
you can make yourself bigger,
stronger, fitter, and have the
best nutrition.
“Our aim with the sailors’
training was not for them to
lose too much weight. The
boys have sailed 19,000 miles
in the last three months, and
yet everybody’s weight has
gone up. Hopefully we’ve put
on enough so that, even if they
drop a bit on the leg, they’re
still in good physical shape.”
Walker, a double Olympic
silver medallist who skippered
ADOR to a fifth-place finish
when the race was last held in
2011/12, agreed that prepara-
tion had been perfect. “We’ve
prepared our bags of spares, our
contingency plans if we have
breakages, double-checked the
rules and generally double-
checked our homework,” he
said. “I’ve no nerves yet and I
don’t know if I will get nervous,
as I normally don’t.
“Everyone has done their
job superbly and we are well
prepared and ready to go. It
won’t be too long now and
we’ll be out of here and head-
ed to Cape Town — I can’t
wait.”
The 2014/2015 Volvo Ocean
Race begins at 4pm UAE time
on Saturday and ADOR fans
can follow the action at www.
volvooceanraceabudhabi.
com/en/follow-the-race/
This is the 12th edition of
the race, which started in 1973
as the Whitbread Round the
Worwld Race, and which is
held every three years.
By Euan Reedie
Chief Sports Writer
— Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
D
espite the absence of
several key players
on national duty, de-
fending champions Al Ahli
started their Arabian Gulf
Cup title defence with an
authoritative 3-1 win over Al
Wahda at Al Nahyan Stadium
on Thursday.
Luis Jimenez, Carlos Mu-
noz and Grafite scored a goal
apiece for the Dubai side,
with Mohammad Al Shehi on
target for Al Wahda.
Al Ahli coach Cosmin
Olaroiu was pleased with his
team’s efforts and added that
the match provided him with
the opportunity to experi-
ment.
“There were a few grey ar-
eas for improvement in the
league games and we man-
aged to improve on that to-
day. We won with a lot of
absentees and that’s a good
sign,” Olaroiu said.
“It was good to provide an
opportunity to some of the
players on the bench.
“We controlled the game
well in the first half, but in
the second half we allowed
them to come back for a short
period. We then regained
control in the last quarter.”
Al Wahda rested most of
their key players despite
having just two — centre-
backs Hamdan Al Kamali
and Hussain Fadel — on
national duty, with coach
Jose Vitor Peseiro opting to
field a largely second-string
team. Only five players from
the regular line-up took the
field. Al Wahda are at the top
of the table in the Arabian
Gulf League with 13 points
from a possible 15 and the
coach wanted to give suffi-
cient rest to his key players.
Blasted home
Al Ahli, who dominated
the first half, got the break-
through after half an hour,
when a long ball from Mo-
hammad Sabeel found the
thigh of Al Wahda defender
Salem Sultan and fell to the
unmarked Jimenez, who
blasted home a power-
packed right-footed effort.
The lead was widened af-
ter half-time by Munoz, who
brilliantly chested down a
ball from deep and produced
a clinical chip over keeper
Ali Mohammad Al Hosani,
who was caught well off his
line. Al Wahda reduced the
margin when Sebastian Tag-
liabue’s back-heeled through
ball allowed the overlapping
Al Shehi to shoot home.
Grafite nodded home
a cross from Mohammad
Obeid to quickly restore Al
Ahli’s two-goal lead.
Coach Peseiro summed
up his team’s performance
as below par and felt Al Ahli
were the superior side.
“Al Ain were simply bet-
ter than us because they won
3-1. I’m not happy with the
team’s performance but this
is football. I believe at look-
ing on one match at a time
and we will now have to fo-
cus on the next match,” the
Portuguese said.
Al Ahli progress
impresses coach
Romanian Olaroiu
happy with with
team’s Arabian Gulf
Cup victory over
Al Wahda
By N.D. Prashant
Staff Reporter
Ali pleased despite UAE’s
draw with Australians
AbuDhabi
U
AE coach Mahdi Ali pro-
nounced himself pleased
after his side held a domi-
nant Australia to a 0-0 draw in
a friendly last night, despite a
lacklustre display from the hosts.
This was the fourth time this
season that the UAE have shared
the spoils in friendlies, following
games against Norway (0-0) in
August and Paraguay (0-0) and
Lithuania (1-1) last month.
Yet they were second best
throughout to Australia, who
failed to translate their posses-
sion into goals, while the UAE
relied on intermittent and dis-
jointed counter-attacks in re-
sponse at the Mohammad Bin
Zayed Stadium here.
Nevertheless,Alisaidthegame
had provided a useful workout
ahead of their defence of the Gulf
Cup title in Saudi Arabia next
month, particularly given that
the Socceroos had taken part in
the Brazil World Cup.
He said: “It was a good game
against a well-organised side in
Australia, who had a very good
World Cup without winning a
game. It was also a good game for
us, as we know our players have
been playing a very tight sched-
ule in the Arabian Gulf League
with three games a week, so they
are a little bit tired.
“We had some easy chances
to score and we missed those
chances. But overall this game
was good preparation for the
GCC Cup and Asian Cup in
January.”
Australia sprang a surprise by
starting with their talisman and
top scorer, Tim Cahill, on the
bench, the former Everton man
only seeing action for the final 14
minutes.
Early exchanges
Meanwhile, for the hosts,
Khamis Esmail and Amer Abdul
Rahman were chosen in central
midfield in the absence of the
latter’s brother Omar, who is in
Spain receiving treatment for a
knee injury.
The visitors dominated the
early exchanges, fulfilling cap-
tain Mile Jedinak’s pre-match
vow that his side would seek to
raise the tempo to unsettle the
hosts.
They nearly took the lead af-
ter two minutes, when Jedinak’s
lofted through ball was volleyed
wildly wide by Matthew Leckie.
The Socceroos continued to
pass, attack and switch play from
either wing with pace and assur-
ance, Ali’s men committing five
fouls in the opening 14 minutes
as they battled to thwart them.
Yet Australia’s failure to apply
the finishing touch their monop-
oly of possession merited was
nearly punished by a stunning
UAE breakaway from Ali Mab-
khout down the right wing after
26 minutes.
He showed lightning pace to
sprint clear of a dozing defence
and dinked the ball over goal-
keeper Matthew Ryan, only to
be denied a goal by Alex Wilkin-
son’s valiant headed clearance.
Coach bemoans missed
chances in friendly
against dominant
visitors
By Euan Reedie
Chief Sports Writer
— Abu Dhabi
Dubai
F
ormer champion Kim
Bolleby of Sweden
pushed his way to the
top of the standings at the
end of the ninth day of quali-
fying for the Fifth Dubai
Open International Bowling
Tournament at the Dubai
Bowling Club on Thursday.
Bolleby, who only arrived
in Dubai on Wednesday,
racked up a nine-game to-
tal of 2,129 that included the
highest series of 725 to top of
the leader board.
The Swede was followed
by UAE star performer Naif
Oqab in second, while over-
night leader Ghalib Al Bu
Saidi of Oman moved into
third despite having a perfect
300 in the fourth game.
The next three positions
were occupied by UAE na-
tional team members Hus-
sain Al Suwaidi, Shaker Ali
Al Hassan and Mahmoud Al
Attar.
Samantha Hannan, who
has been a regular on the
UAE bowling scene for the
past few years, is the best
performer among the wom-
en as she stands in 11th place
overall with a total of 1,907.
Hannan continued her
top position in the women’s
tournament with a total of
1,773, chased down by Fil-
ipina Uella Marcial (1,725)
and Khuloud Akram from
the UAE on 1,642.
Hannan has also been do-
ing well in the youth compe-
tition, as she sits in fourth.
Bolleby
leads
Dubai
qualifying
By Alaric Gomes
Senior Reporter
Courtesy: ADOR
Next stop Cape Town
■■ With the nine-month, round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race due to start in Alicante, Spain, today, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing — the
UAE’s contender — is all set for the first, 6,400-mile leg to Cape Town, South Africa.
❝It’s nerve-racking
watching the
tracker to make
sure the boat is
not breaking. If
something breaks,
you know we won’t
be sleeping and
we’ll be thinking
about it just as
much as the sailors
on-board.”
Guy Barron |
ADOR shore team
manager
Abdul Rahman/Gulf News
Goalless affair
■■ The UAE’s Esmail Salem Al Hammadi runs with the ball
as Australia’s Trent Sainsbury gives chase, with Ali Ahmad
Mabkhout Al Hajeri in tow. The teams drew 0-0.