JEDDAH, 18 June 2007 — Weeks after winning the King’s Cup against Al-Hilal at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Al-Ittihad will witness another round of battle within their halls soon.
Mansour Al-Balawi has had a change of heart after announcing at the end of the King’s Cup final match he was stepping down as president of Ittihad club. He will now be seeking a fresh four-year term against Saudi businessman Salem Bin Mahfouz in a two-way race during the election on a date to be scheduled by the General Presidency of Youth Welfare, according to sources at Ittihad.
Despite the emergence of a challenger to his post Al-Balawi is expected to win the presidency of the club for another four years, especially after he managed to put the name of the club in the international level with two AFC Champions League titles to go with the local and regional championships. It was during the watch of Al-Balawi, many say, that Ittihad club enjoyed its golden years.
Due to these achievements during his time, many Ittihad honorary members such as Prince Khaled ibn Fahd, Prince Talal ibn Mansour, Asaad Abdul Kareem, and Abdul Muhsin Al Al-Sheikh all supported Al-Balawi. Al-Balawi did take Ittihad to the world stage as promised when the club played in the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship held in Japan.
Al-Balawi took the game of basketball to another level and Ittihad managed to dominate the local championships as well as win regional titles. The same went for water polo, table tennis, and gymnastics teams in his club. Hence all these teams brought over 200 laurels during his presidency.
Mohammed Amin, Ittihad midfielder, said, “with all due respect, all honorary members love Ittihad truly and proved it on many occasions, but Al-Balawi is still by far be the most qualified for this position.” He said that Al-Balawi has gained experience from the years he spent as supervisor and team manager prior to taking over the presidency of the club.
Another Ittihad athlete said, “we do not know Bin Mahfouz very well but we just hear about him as a member of the club.” The athlete believes Bin Mahfouz is capable of leading the teams of Ittihad with his professionalism. The only question is whether he is up to the task and if he could match what Al-Balawi had achieved.
The one thing that could hinder Bin Mahfouz’s success at the club has to do with financial matters. The new president is expected to offer raise SR50 million. The money would be spent on preparing the football team on their own for the next season. He also has to deal with players whose contracts are to be renewed like defender Hamad Al-Muntasheri. Another potential headache is the SR25 million needed to bring in new blood and sign foreign players.
While Bin Mahfouz, honorary member at Ittihad, might face difficulties in covering these expenses if he gets elected as president, Al-Balawi managed to do so during his tenure of office. Honorary members believe Al-Balawi is the best man to keep a balance in the club when it comes to financial matters.
Meanwhile, those opposed to Al-Balawi criticized the presence of unqualified personnel he appointed in the management team. They also slammed Al-Balawi for his propensity for propaganda in which he prematurely announces signing of big name international players only to fall through in the end.
Another thing seen to work Al-Balawi’s way is his good chemistry with the administration of Hassan Jamjoom under whose tutelage he blossomed to be at the helm of the popular Jeddah-based club. Hassan was credited with having brought stability in the club in addition to winning the Crown Prince Cup and raising the standard in the pay scale of Saudi footballers.
Bin Mahfouz was quoted in Arriyadiyah daily, sister publication of Arab News, as having said the reason behind his candidacy is because of his passion for Ittihad and the desire to serve this club and nation. He said he was also among the administration council during a previous presidency and had management experience having been supervisor of the football team too during the late Adnan Jamjoom presidency. “It is a shame that only Al-Balawi nominated himself though there are many honorary members,” he said.
Of the financial support, Bin Mahfouz said he believes all the benefactors are supporting the name of Ittihad regardless of whoever is the president. “It is about the club and if I succeeded in my mission they will continue to support the club and many voices assured me of that.”
He also said he wants to return the honorary member council functioning as it used to be when everything ran with the consultation of them all. “This is the feature Al-Ittihad club has since 80 years and hopes to continue in addition to bringing more professionals who are knowledgeable enough and can develop the other sports in the club,” said Bin Mahfouz.
