JEDDAH, 15 April 2007 — Eight hundred and fifty children in the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center (KFSHRC) were waiting eagerly last Thursday to meet star Saudi footballers from Al-Hilal and Al-Nasr clubs. Only three of the expected footballers showed up to see the mini-derby between the clubs’ players; the three were Mansour Al-Thagafi, Mohammed Sharifi and Diaa Haroun.

The small number of players was a huge disappointment to the children who came with their families wearing their favorite players’ jerseys and waving the clubs’ flags, said Dr. Suad Al-Yamani, consultant in Pediatric Neurology and director of the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Group in KFSHRC in Riyadh.

“These athletes are like superstars and the goal was for them to boost the children’s spirits and enable them to mingle with others but the players’ thoughtlessness ruined everything,” the doctor said.

She observed that the players enjoyed being goodwill ambassadors outside the Kingdom but that it would be better if they concentrated on matters at home. For over a month, careful preparations had been made but as the doctor said, “None of this mattered when you saw the disappointment and tears on the children’s faces. They were looking forward to seeing their superstars.”

She said that the administration of both clubs had said that their players would attend. The three players who did come arrived late and only after phone calls had been made to them.

Sources, however, told Al-Eqtisadiah which was present at the event that the players had not been informed by the administration and were preparing for their Sunday match. The players said they would have attended if they had known in advance.

The ADHD Group received phone calls from both clubs on the day after the event, apologizing and expressing their willingness to host a similar event at which the clubs would bear all expenses and which all the players would attend.

Al-Thagafi said he was glad to have attended. He said that was the least that should be done for children, and that if they had known earlier, they would surely have come.