Prince Sultan ibn Fahd, president of the Saudi Youth Welfare Presidency and Saudi Football Federation, expressed his happiness at the great achievement of Al-Ittihad club, for being picked the best club in Asia for this year and Ittihad defender Hamad Al-Muntashiri being named best player in Asia.
He attributed this achievement to the hard work by the club management and to the continued support Saudi teams receive from the government and the federation.
He said that Ittihad’s achievement is a reflection of the achievement of Saudi Arabia in all levels in different disciplines. He congratulated Ittihad President Mansour Al-Balawi, members of the club and Ittihad fans on their achievement.
Prince Nawaf ibn Faisal ibn Fahd, deputy president of the Youth Welfare, said that Ittihad achievements are continuation of Saudi achievements as the Saudi national team had reached the finals of the World Cup four times in a row.
Football:
The round eight of Saudi Football League did not witness any major changes in ranking as Al-Hilal remained on top of the group with 21 points after defeating Al-Ahli 4-1 in Riyadh.
Al-Shabab continued to chase Hilal in second place with 16 points after defeating Al-Taie 2-1 in Hail.
The major soccer news was the firing of Elia, former Ahli coach, the resignation of Ahli club President Abdul Razzak Abu Dawood. Al-Wehda, Al-Qadisiya, Taie and Al-Nasr stayed in their positions and remained in the middle ranks. Al-Abha, Al-Ansar, Hazem and Al-Ittifaq continued to struggle.
Round nine will witness five important matches after the postponed Ahli-Ittihad derby due to Ittihad’s participation in World Cup in Japan. The main match is between Hilal and Nasr in Riyadh on Friday. Hilal is expected to win. Shabab is expected to win against Wehda in Riyadh and to continue to chase Hilal. Qadisiya is expected to defeat Abha who is in the last position with 1 point.
Other matches will be between Hazem and Taie in Al-Rass and Ittifaq against Ansar in Dammam.
Volleyball
In volleyball, the ranks did not change much as Hilal and Ahli stay first and second with 16 points each. Nasr is third with 12 points and Al-Safa fourth with 10 points. On Friday the two rivals Ahli and Hilal will face each other in Riyadh. Other matches pit Khaleej against Ittihad and Nahda against Nasr.
Handball
In handball, Ahli continued to dominate with 11 points, followed by Qadisiya in second with 10 points and Mudar and Noor in third and fourth positions with 9 points each. Ahli and Mudar will play in Jeddah on Friday.
