JEDDAH, 2 January 2005 — Prince Nawaf ibn Faisal, vice president of Saudi Football Federation, donated SR100,000 to the bereaved family of Saad Al-Dossary, the star player of Saudi Arabia’s national soccer team and an outstanding player of Al-Hilal soccer club, who died last Thursday in a tragic car accident.
“Saad was an outstanding player. He served the national team on many occasions and was very good to his friends,” said Prince Nawaf, while offering condolences to the bereaved family.
In a gesture of good will, the prince also ordered the Hilal club to find out any debt against him. The prince offered to clear all his debts.
Al-Ittihad Club Sign Yugoslav Bectovic
In another development, Al-Ittihad soccer club has signed a deal with the Yugoslavian international Eyan Bectovic to strengthen the squad, said Mansour Al-Balawi, president of the club.
The club is holding a press conference today to discuss the details of the contract with Bectovic, who will be arriving here soon.
Ahli on Top of Saudi League Rank
Meanwhile, Al-Ahli club remain on top of the King Fahd Cup tournament after beating Al-Wahda of Makkah 1-0 in their match at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah on Friday. The game was goalless in the first half.
Ahli got the upper hand in the 61st minute when Waleed Al-Jizani found the mark and scored the winner from inside the penalty box.
Wahda tried their best but failed to clinch the equalizer. The final buzzer decided the match in favor of Ahli. With this victory, Ahli are on top with 24 points while Wahda remain in ninth position with 12 points.
Al-Taie of Hail secured three points after defeating Al-Ohud of Madinah 1-0 in another match of the day. Both teams played their best and remained goalless in the first half. But the second half told a different story when Hassan Al-Subyani broke the defending wall of Ohud and gave his team a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute of the game, which remained untouched till the end of the game. Taie are in sixth position with 19 points while Ohud remain at the bottom with only five points.
Ghana Clubs Meet in African Cup Final
In Johannesburg, Ghana clubs Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak will become the first teams from the same country to contest a continental club final when they meet in today’s first leg of the African Confederation Cup final, Reuters adds.
The two play in a tie postponed from last month because of the presidential elections in the West African country.
Hearts will host the first leg in Accra on Sunday with the return leg in Kumasi one week later on Jan. 9.
