Arab Cup football tournament for premier teams begins in Taif today with teams from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Sudan, Libya and Morocco seeing action.
There will be a simple opening ceremony at King Fahd Sports City Stadium in Hawiya, Taif with the participation of Muhammad Rurawa, vice president of Arab Football Federation, Saeed Jamaan, secretary-general of AFF and Ahmed Eid, acting president of Saudi Football Federation, host of the event.
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait face off in the first match in Hawiya at 7:45 p.m. today. The competitions will be held in both Taif and Jeddah.
The organizing committee has fixed ticket charges at SR 20 for first class, SR 15 for second class and SR 100 for excellent class while SR 200 will be charged for those seated on the platform.
Muhammad Al-Sarah, director general of Arab Cup tournament, welcomed the participating teams and wished them a happy stay in the Kingdom.
“We wish a large number of Saudi and Arab soccer fans would attend the opening match between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
The two teams have locked horns in the past several times in regional and international events. We hope the two teams would display the best of their skills on Friday,” Al-Sarah said.
He called upon Arab and other foreign expatriate workers in the Kingdom to attend the matches of the tournament. Al-Sarah thanked Prince Nawaf bin Faisal, head of the General Presidency of Youth Welfare and president of AFF, for his support to the tournament. Taif hosted the first Arab Cup tournament in 1985.
Arab Cup kicks off today
