Last Saturday, April 27, Al Fateh sports club was in the center of Saudi sports hall of fame. The football club from the city of Al Mubaraz won the Saudi Professional League which is also known as Zain Saudi League.

Zain telecom is the main sponsor. Saudi football league is the most popular and most watched in the Arab world. Winning the trophy is not easy for any Saudi football club. It needs good professional players, good coach, talented managers and constant flow of financial and moral support.

And, ironically, for the first time in Saudi sports history the women of the city of Al Mubaraz are the ones who were behind this achievement. So, what is the story of the city of Al Mubaraz and its football club? The city of Al Mubaraz is the twin city of Al Hofuf, located in Al Hassa in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Last week, the Saudi sports pages covered three surprising sports events, local, regional and international. The international one was about the May 25 Champions League final at London’s Wembley Stadium between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the first all-German team final after they both had beaten Spain’s best nominated clubs, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

The regional news is the election of Sheikh Salman Al Khalifa from Bahrain as the president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). But, the most important news was seeing Al Fateh sports club win the Saudi League championship. Al Fateh won the trophy couple of weeks before the end of the championship. And the result of the final match with Al Ittifaq from Dammam on April 27 made no difference to them, but they won it 4-0.

I was at the match and saw people from every nationality at Prince Mohammed Bin Fahad stadium in Dammam. The American Consul General, Mr. Joey Hood, and his aids were present and were wearing the Al Fateh team colors.

But, what made this year’s Saudi League championship different? Couple of years ago, Al Fateh football club lost many games. And one of the managing directors was depressed. His mother was the one who encouraged him not to give up and gave him the financial support needed for running the club.

Ironically, she even advised him about many of the deals which involved the transfer of the best players to the club. Her name is Ms. Fawzyah Al Rashid who is one of the most active philanthropic activists in the Kingdom.

As time passed, people knew of more women from the families in Al Mubaraz city. In the official website, there are more women’s names who are honorary members of this club such as, Fathyah, Ayshah and Fatimah Al Rashid.

There are other ladies from other families who also were part of the general public relations through the social media means and through their direct support.

There are many families who simply made it possible for this club to be the talk of the town such Al Rashid, Al Afaliq, Al Mousa, Al Shuhail, Al Nafgan, Al Jaber, Al Maghlouth, Al Mogahwi, Al Suwaig, Al Saleem and many others.

In other words, many young men and women from the city of Al Mubaraz put their hands together and accomplished a dream for being the best in the Kingdom. Last year, this club was the most admired for its performance and for the information of the readers, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah told the club managers during a sports event last year that this club deserved to be the next champion. And one year later, it was real. The Al Fateh football club became the champion with a style.

Away from sports, the city of Al Mubaraz and its people are very well known for their services to the society.

Last year Al Jaber family built 243 homes and donated them to poor families. Al Afaliq and Al Mousa made many contributions to the society through building hospitals, hotels and private schools and many other projects that help bringing people together. So, the managers of Al Fateh club didn’t only win the championship, they simply brought people together and won many hearts.

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