JEDDAH, 9 July 2004 — Premier Club Al-Ittihad are hopeful of signing Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker to train the team for the coming season. Club President Mansour Al-Balawi is confident that a final agreement between Beenhakker and Ittihad will be signed “within the next few days” once the contract papers are ready.
The club is reshaping itself for the coming season and are also hopeful of bringing Colombian striker Sergio Herrera to Ittihad. “The club is pursuing Colombian striker Herrera and are hopeful of signing him up,” added Al-Balawi.
Herrera, 21, left his mark with a superlative performance against Venezuela in Tuesday’s Copa America match in Peru. “After watching Herrera, Ittihad club — in its hunt for fresh talent — called up the manager of the player and made an offer that could entice him to sign with the club,” Al-Balawi said.
Al-Balawi said talks were in the progress and he was quietly confident that the signing will be done in Beirut next week.
Ittihad has also embarked on a new program in a bid to promote the game. The club has signed up with a major finance company to shore up investment in the club. The company, winning the contract, will have the use of the club’s name and logo on their products, said Al-Balawi.
The agreement is likely to be about SR100 million over 10 years, with SR10 million earmarked to be spent each year -- SR2.5 million in each quarter.
Advertising on players’ T-shirts is not included in the agreement, he said, adding that six major companies are vying for the contract and this will add another SR6 to 8 million to the club’s revenue.
Al-Balawi announced that revenues from local and international soccer matches would be donated to the families of security officers killed by terrorists.
