Anticipation is building as the 37th Hero Dubai Desert Classic gets underway at Emirates Golf Club from 22nd to 25th January, marking the first Rolex Series event of the 2026 Race to Dubai season.

The tournament will feature one of its strongest fields to date, led by record four-time champion Rory McIlroy, who returns 20 years after making his debut at the event. McIlroy will be aiming for a historic fifth Dallah Trophy against a world-class line-up that includes defending champion Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Viktor Hovland, Dustin Johnson, Nicolai Højgaard, Ryan Fox and Tom McKibbin.

Former world number one and European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald is also among the contenders, while UAE golfer Ahmad Skaik will compete as a professional for the first time, underlining the tournament’s support for regional talent.

Preparations at the Majlis Course are in their final stages, with Emirates Golf Club’s agronomy team working to deliver championship conditions befitting one of the world’s most prestigious tournaments. Officials said the course is in excellent condition following months of intensive preparation.

Simon Corkill, Executive Tournament Director of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, said the collaboration between tournament organisers and course staff has ensured the event is ready to welcome players and fans for what promises to be a memorable edition.

Beyond the golf, the Hero Dubai Desert Classic offers a festival-style experience, with Tournament Town hosting family activities, live entertainment and expanded food and hospitality options throughout the week.

General admission is free on 22nd and 23rd January, with paid access on 24th and 25th January. The event continues to reinforce Dubai’s status as a leading global destination for world-class sporting events.

WAM

Senegal struck in extra time to shock hosts Morocco and win the Africa Cup of Nations in Rabat on Sunday, sealing a dramatic 1-0 victory in a final overshadowed by chaotic scenes and a controversial penalty decision.

Pape Gueye proved the match-winner, scoring early in extra time after Morocco had missed a golden opportunity to take the lead deep into stoppage time. In the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time, Brahim Diaz stepped up to take a penalty that could have secured the trophy for the hosts, but the Real Madrid winger weakly chipped his effort and was comfortably denied by Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.

The spot-kick was awarded by Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala following a lengthy VAR review for a challenge by El Hadji Malick Diouf on Diaz. The decision sparked furious protests from Senegal’s players and supporters, especially after a Senegal goal had earlier been disallowed for a foul. As tensions boiled over, some Senegal fans threw objects and attempted to enter the pitch before being restrained by police and stewards. Their anger quickly turned to jubilation when Mendy saved the penalty.

After surviving the scare, Senegal looked energised, and their breakthrough felt inevitable. Four minutes into extra time, Sadio Mane won possession in midfield and fed Idrissa Gana Gueye, who released Pape Gueye. The Villarreal midfielder powered past Achraf Hakimi and curled a superb strike into the top corner beyond Yassine Bounou.

Morocco were devastated, particularly Diaz, who was soon substituted. The hosts pushed for an equaliser and came close when Nayef Aguerd headed against the crossbar in the second half of extra time, but Senegal held firm. They might have made the win more comfortable had Cherif Ndiaye not missed a late chance to double the lead.

The defeat ended Morocco’s hopes of lifting the trophy on home soil and ending a 50-year wait for a second continental title. For Senegal, it marked their second Africa Cup of Nations triumph in the last three tournaments, following their penalty shoot-out win over Egypt in 2022.

Despite the dramatic finish, the final itself was a tense, low-scoring affair, reflecting the defensive quality of two of Africa’s top-ranked sides. Senegal’s Iliman Ndiaye and Morocco’s Ayoub El Kaabi both missed key chances before the late controversy and decisive goal.

GN

Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was the hero with two saves in the shoot-out as hosts Morocco beat Nigeria 4-2 on penalties to set up an Africa Cup of Nations final showdown this weekend with Senegal after a tense last-four clash on Wednesday finished 0-0 at the end of extra time.

Bounou saved from Samuel Chukwueze and brilliantly from Bruno Onyemaechi, allowing Youssef En-Nesyri to convert the winning kick and spark wild celebrations among the 65,458 crowd inside the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.

There was joy but also relief for Hamza Igamane, who had appeared distraught after his kick — Morocco’s second in the shoot-out — was saved by Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali.

He was the only Moroccan player to fail to score in the shoot-out, however, with captain and talisman Achraf Hakimi among those who converted their penalties.

Morocco will now play Senegal on Sunday for the title after the Lions of Teranga defeated Mohamed Salah’s Egypt 1-0 in the other semi-final earlier in Tangiers thanks to a Sadio Mane goal — that will be a clash between the top two African sides in the FIFA world rankings.

“It was one of the hardest matches we have had against a very solid and talented team,” said Morocco coach Walid Regragui, who played in the last Atlas Lions side to reach the final when they lost to Tunisia in 2004.

“I am very happy for the players and for the Moroccan people who really deserve this.

“It is a great gift for them to be in the final but we will need to recover quickly because we put a lot of energy into this game.”

Morocco have been under enormous pressure to deliver a first AFCON title for their country in half a century but will be confident of coming out on top against Senegal with their support behind them.

However, as their dream remains alive it is an agonising way for Nigeria’s hopes to end, two years after they lost the final to the hosts in Ivory Coast — they had been hoping to win a fourth Cup of Nations crown to match the tally of rivals Ghana.

Led by two recent winners of the African player of the year prize in Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman, Nigeria had been arguably the best team at the tournament up to the semi-finals and the top scorers with 14 goals.

But they created next to nothing during the 120 minutes here and must settle for Saturday’s third-place play-off against Egypt in Casablanca before watching the World Cup from afar following their failure to qualify.

Hard to take for Super Eagles

“The players fought for every ball and it is difficult to lose on penalties, but this is football and we have to accept it,” said Nigeria coach Eric Chelle.

“It is difficult to play here in Morocco because you have to play against the team and against the crowd.”

Doubts about the Moroccan team’s ability to handle the enormous pressure of playing at home had dissipated following their win over Cameroon in the quarter-finals.

The 2022 World Cup semi-finalists had been whistled by their own fans at times during the group phase here, but this time those supporters did their bit by responding to any Nigerian spell of possession with deafening jeers.

A frenetic opening spell to the contest saw the Moroccan winger Brahim Diaz -– probably the tournament’s outstanding player -– curl a shot wide before Alex Iwobi teed up Lookman at the other end for a shot that was well saved.

Morocco had chances, including a free-kick from Hakimi and a shot from Ismael Saibari that was well saved by Nwabali.

However, the second half was more cagey and the clock ran down on normal time, while the spectre of penalties grew larger as the extra half-hour progressed.

It seemed Nigeria were settling for the shoot-out, even taking off Osimhen as they hoped to repeat their win on penalties in the 2024 semi-final against South Africa.

However, Morocco had also famously won on penalties against Spain at the last World Cup and they repeated the trick to reach the final of their Cup of Nations.

GN