JEDDAH, 25 October 2003 — Al-Ahli continued to perform poorly after they drew 1-1 against Al-Ittifak in the King Fahd Cup Soccer Tournament here at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium last night.
Ahli gained the upper hand in the 38th minute of the first half when Brazilian Carlos Diaz scored on penalty when Talal Al-Meshal was brought down in the penalty box. Ittifak continued to put pressure on Ahli’s defense and in the 87th minute Yosri Al-Basha snatched the equalizer.
With this draw Ahli have nine points, one more than Ittifak.
In the other encounters, Wehda also drew 2-2 against Riyadh, while Nasr scored a fine 2-1 victory over Shabab and are on second position behind leaders Ittihad who have 20 points. In the last match of the night played in Kharj, Shola and Khaleej drew 3-3.
2010 World Cup Important to South Africa: Mandela
Agency adds: In Zurich, hosting the 2010 soccer World Cup would boost South Africa’s global image and unite the country further, former President Nelson Mandela said yesterday.
Speaking after a meeting with FIFA President Sepp Blatter, Mandela underlined the importance of South Africa’s bid to stage the 2010 finals.
“It is going to mean a great deal because we have been wanting this (World) Cup to be played in South Africa (for a long time),” said Mandela. “When you have an important international game being played in a country, you spread the message that South Africa is part of the global world.”
Having lost to Germany by 12 votes to 11 for the right to stage the 2006 World Cup finals, South Africa last month submitted a bid, along with Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, to host the event in 2010, which will be held in Africa for the first time as part of FIFA’s rotation policy. The country staged a friendly with England in May to show its capability to host major soccer internationals.
