EDITOR’S LETTER

LLike the majority of people from the North East of England, for me, football is everything. The highs and lows (mainly lows, it has to be said) of Sunderland Association Football Club impact on my everyday life far more than is probably healthy; the difference between winning and losing is the difference between a great weekend and miserable one. I possibly have more conversations with my mother – also a Sunderland fan/sufferer – on football than I do on just about anything, bar her grandson. And, of course, he’s primed and ready to go, the full strip already hanging in his wardrobe, and he’s only five months old. Apologies, Alfie, for the years of Sunderland-based misery that inevitably lie ahead. Despite its weekend-ruining ability, football has been a constant for me – I’ve made friends because of it, and it’s the glue that binds the (equally miserable) group of friends I’ve had since school together.

Football, like all sport, is such a fantastic way to bring people together.

Moving to a place like Dubai – whether you did it ten days or ten years ago – means more often than not the need to make new friends, find new fun, join in new things – and there’s no better way to do it than sport. And that’s where we come in.

#TryDubai is our way of bringing together people to make new friends and have some fun with sport, hobbies, and all kinds of great activities. All the big clubs will be there, but so will the little ones, too. So you can sign up for a football team, or a netball team, or a Frisbee game, or a pottery class – in short, anything and everything you need to meet new people and have fun.

Come along, check it out, meet new people and get involved – trust me, it’s more fun than following Sunderland. Enjoy the issue.