JEDDAH, 17 September 2006 — Jubilance over the “special needs” Saudi Arabian football team 9-8 victory over Holland overflowed at the Leverkusen stadium in Germany with people chanting “Saudi, Saudi” after a tremendous display of grit and finesse by the Kingdom side in the Learning Disability World Cup 2006 final last night.

The verdict was achieved following penalty kicks after the Saudis staged a brilliant rally to forge a 4-4 deadlock in the regulation and extra time before striking true in the set of five penalties. The Dutch missed one and with that the opportunity to extend the battle and their hopes of taking their third title in the special soccer event.

Previously Holland had won the cup in 1994 and 2002, while in 1998 England emerged champs with the fourth edition getting a new champion in Saudi Arabia.

Dutch striker Danny Cheruers scored the first goal in the 14th minute and 13 minutes later Dennies Mankwah doubled it. In the 38th minute, Al-Dossari proved the playmaker sending in a crisp pass to Kasser, who was on target.

Commentators at the Saudi Sport Channel, Ibrahim Al-Suwailem and Khalid Al-Ahmad from the Saudi Sport Federation for Special Needs, predicted a Saudi victory. Al-Suwailem said, “It did not matter whether the team won or lost, they had already achieved success by reaching the final and we are all proud of that.”

Though Holland held the edge during the first half, in the second-half it was Kingdom who were on the ascendancy, by constantly attacking and this helped them secure the equalizer. Kasser netted his and his side’s second goal in the 46th minute.

The first Saudi yellow card was shown to Al-Shiraimi in the 59th minute and another one to Owaiyedah in the 61st minute.

Holland, in the 65th minute, cashed in on a counter to beat Saudi goalkeeper Aseri for their fourth goal but Kasser delivered a stunning hat trick in the 71st minute. Nevertheless, the 76th minute was what everyone looking forward to as Al-Doussari passed through a smooth goal to Kasser who gave the crowd a greater enjoyment scoring the equalizer 4-4. The two extra time halves ended goalless for both teams.

President of Saudi Youth Welfare and Saudi Football Federation Prince Sultan ibn Fahd said in an interview after the match that he is very proud of the team and their performance. “We will continue to help them develop their skills to keep this professional level.”

“What we saw today is the result of athletes who are patriotic, optimistic and enthusiastic. We thank the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for his continuous support and also Prince Sultan ibn Fahd and his Deputy President Prince Nawaf ibn Faisal for their zealous efforts,” said Al-Suwailem.

The Saudi national team would arrive home today from Germany on a private plane at 9 p.m. and the celebration will be aired on the Saudi Sport Channel.

The Saudi team comprised of Abdullah Aseri (goalkeeper), Mohammed Ayed, Mohammed Owaiyedah, Abdulmajeed Al-Khalifah, Ahmad Hanash, Mohammed Al-Shiraimi, Mohammed Wahaib, Shaye Al-Marif, Abdullah Al-Doussari, Salim Al-Soud, Omar Kasser and Fahd Al-Hargan.

Technical Manager Abdulaziz Al-Khalid accompanied the team and Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Germany Dr. Usamah Shubukshi watched the match along with the General Secretary of the Saudi Sport Federation for Special Needs Nassir Al-Salih.