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Man City’s UAE Ties, Replit’s AI Deal and a Palestinian Sneaker Brand Going Global
AI, tech, startup and business stories from the Arab world. For the driven, the dreamers and the doers
Sunday, September 27, 2026
Happy Sunday everyone!
Football ownership, AI consolidation and Palestinian entrepreneurship lead Middle Eastern business updates today. UAE owned Manchester City says its Premier League case “remains ongoing” amid reports of a guilty verdict, Replit acquired AI analytics startup Atta, and Palestinian sneaker brand Resolute RGL raised $1.27 million as it prepares for international expansion.
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Manchester City Case Puts Premier League’s Global Reputation Under Pressure
🔹 What Is It About
UAE owned Manchester City says its Premier League case “remains ongoing”, after The Athletic and Bloomberg reported that an independent panel found the club guilty of nearly all 115 alleged financial rule breaches. The allegations cover 2009 to 2018, including financial reporting, payments and cooperation with investigators. City has consistently denied wrongdoing and is expected to appeal, while potential sanctions have yet to be decided.
🔹 Why It Matters
The bigger risk is now to the Premier League brand itself. Football has seen what prolonged questions over governance can do: research into Italy’s Calciopoli scandal found attendance at punished clubs fell around 16%, with significant gate revenue losses. The Premier League remains the dominant commercial force, but its competition is widening. The Saudi Pro League is broadcast in more than 180 countries, while foreign capital is entering its clubs, including American investor Ben Harburg’s acquisition of Al Kholood. Gulf capital has also reshaped English football itself, from Abu Dhabi ownership of Manchester City to Saudi PIF’s acquisition of Newcastle United.
🔹 What’s Next
City is expected to appeal, potentially extending a case already years in the making. But the long term question is whether repeated disputes over financial rules, ownership and enforcement weaken confidence in Premier League governance. That matters as the Saudi Pro League, UAE’s ADNOC Pro League and Turkey’s Süper Lig compete more aggressively for players, investors and international audiences. The Premier League is not simply protecting its rulebook anymore. It is protecting the credibility of the product those rules underpin.
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Palestinian Sneaker Brand Resolute RGL Raises $1.3 Million to Go Global
🔹 What Is It About
Palestinian fashion brand Resolute RGL has raised $1.27 million in new funding as it prepares to expand internationally. Co founded by Oscar winning Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra, the company produces luxury sneakers featuring traditional tatreez embroidery. Adra helped propel the brand onto the global stage when he wore its sneakers while accepting the Academy Award for No Other Land in 2025.
🔹 Why It Matters
Resolute is attempting to turn Palestinian craftsmanship into a scalable luxury business while keeping production and ownership connected to its origins. A Palestinian women’s weaving cooperative in the South Hebron Hills produces the tatreez used across its footwear and holds a majority stake in the company. Resolute generated around $1 million in revenue during 2025, its first year of operations.
🔹 What’s Next
The new capital will support Resolute’s next phase of expansion as it looks beyond its early celebrity following. Its first New York pop up marks a push into the US market, while the company is targeting fivefold growth and profitability. The test now is whether Resolute can scale internationally while preserving the craftsmanship and community ownership that distinguish the brand.
Replit Buys Atta as $9 Billion AI Company Pushes Beyond Coding
🔹 What Is It About
Replit has acquired AI business analytics startup Atta, bringing its data analysis and visualisation technology directly into Replit conversations. Founded in 2024 by Omar Shaik and Amine Ben Khalifa, Atta lets businesses connect company data and generate analysis and interactive charts without writing SQL. The relationship began two years ago when Shaik cold emailed Replit CEO Amjad Masad seeking investment, with Masad backing the startup after seeing an early demo.
🔹 Why It Matters
The acquisition pushes Replit beyond its core AI coding business and further into enterprise analytics. Atta can turn information from company data sources into answers, charts and business insights, potentially reducing reliance on traditional dashboards and analyst workflows. “A big part of that is putting the ability to understand a business in everyone’s hands,” Masad wrote on X, describing Replit’s broader ambition to build the “self driving company.”
🔹 What’s Next
Atta’s technology is already beginning to appear inside Replit, with users able to request interactive visualisations directly in conversations. Replit, founded in 2016 by Amjad Masad, Haya Odeh and Faris Masad, raised $400 million at a $9 billion valuation in March. The acquisition gives Replit another route to expand enterprise usage as it works toward roughly $1 billion in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2026.
Content, Connections, Deals: DICM 2026 Opens Registration
The Dubai International Content Market (DICM) returns to the iconic Madinat Jumeirah on 10–11 November 2026, bringing together the region's largest gathering of content and entertainment professionals. Named the Best Annual Media Industry Event in MENA, DICM is the go-to marketplace for buying, selling, co-producing and distributing content across TV, film, streaming and digital platforms.
Expect 100+ exhibiting companies, over 1,000 media executives from 55+ countries, and access to the Content Business Hub — DICM's matchmaking platform that lets buyers and sellers pre-schedule meetings up to six weeks before doors open. Whether you're scouting new IP, seeking co-production partners, or expanding into the fast-growing Middle East and Africa markets, DICM delivers the connections and deal-flow to make it happen.
Registration is now open. Secure your spot at one of MENA's pivotal media industry events.
👨💻From Smashi Business’ Desk
UAE Billionaire Al Habtoor Mourns Passing of HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Yara Alnamlah’s Moonglaze Hits Sephora Billboards Ahead of Saudi National Day
Dubai based The Giving Movement CEO Rania Masri El Khatib has spoken out after Macklemore was removed from Ed Sheeran’s US tour following his support for Palestine.
‘Stop Sexualizing the Gym’: Squatwolf Founder Slams Sydney Sweeney’s Controversial Ad
🔍In other news…
Dubai’s Global Village Overtakes Disney as World’s Most Visited Theme Park
India’s Biggest Payments App PhonePe Enters the UAE
Wall Street Firms Push Back Against Saudi Arabia’s Regional Headquarters Rules
UAE Listed MAIR Group to Acquire 70% Stake in Espressolab Owner Eslab
Abu Dhabi Lands EQT’s New Middle East Investment Platform
🦄 World of Startups
Tabby, Saudi-based BNPL, raised $233M in a Series F equity round at a $6.5B valuation.
OCTA, USA-based accounting platform, raised $3.5M in a seed funding round led by Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) and joined by Wa'ed Ventures, Plug and Play, and A-typical Ventures, Sukna Ventures and Sadu Capital.
Rize, Saudi-based residential rental platform, secured a $50M (SAR 187.5M) asset-backed Murabaha facility from Jadwa Investment.
Bekia, Egypt-based recycling technology startup, raised $765K in a seed funding round led by Madica, joined by Catalyst Fund and Jambaar Capital.
Lendo, Saudi-based Shariah-compliant debt crowdfunding marketplace, secured a commitment of up to $200M (SAR 750M) from Quantic Financial Solutions GmbH, Austria-based asset management fund.
Saudi Arabian building materials platform BRKZ has secured $31 million in new funding.
Saudi digital payments company Barq has raised $329.5 million in a Series A round, valuing the fintech at $1.85 billion.
