DUBAI /RIYADH, 2 July 2006 — Football fans in the Gulf demonstrated their true passion and craze for the game by participating in the ‘world’s first 4X4 Jeep football’ match played recently in the desert amid the frenzy of the World Cup.
Dubbed “Snickers 4X4 Football,” the participating jeeps were divided into two teams, four each representing Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.
To beat the summer heat, the game kicked off at 5 a.m. with jeeps tackling each other over sand dunes with the aim of scoring a goal. Excited Saudi fans cheered on their home jeep drivers for the incredible skills performed during the match.
The pitch size was 250m x 150 m, ball size 1 m wide and goal posts 6 m x 3 m. Cameras were mounted on cars and camels to capture shots.
Jeep experts juggled the ball and took hand-break turns with daredevil driving tricks culminating in a finale with the match ending in penalties. Saudi Arabia snatched victory in dramatic style and celebrated their success.
“This is one of the best and most fun ideas ever to be created in football history. We’re so excited and thankful to Snickers for helping us manage an event of this kind. Football is not just a sport for us but a way of life. It’s our passion and we’ve proved this today by participating in the world’s first ever 4x4 football match,” Mohammed Aziz, a Saudi jeep expert, said commenting on the team’s victory,
“We share the same hunger for the world’s most popular sport as football fanatics across the Middle East. Snickers has always been passionately involved in football and an event of this kind reflects our determination to bring the sport to life in a truly dynamic and out of the ordinary way,” Tarek Abdallah, category development manager, MasterFoods, said. “It was a great opportunity for us to create a world’s first and elevate our love of football to a completely new level.”
