JEDDAH, 25 June 2007 — Long jumper Mohammad Al-Khuwalidi has been ruled out of the Saudi national athletics team now in training camp abroad after his employer Saudi Aramco rejected his request and disallowed him to go on a paid leave citing the company’s employment rules.
Aramco remained firm in its decision not to allow Al-Khuwalidi to join his teammates in training in preparation for the World Cup to be held in Osaka, Japan from Aug. 25 to Sept. 2 because the athlete had already used up the two months paid leave.
Al-Khuwalidi could still go on leave without pay but he fears the repercussions, like problems might crop up in getting a salary raise or pension when he retires in the future. He used to be allowed to take leaves with pay for at least six months under the cover of a royal decree that grants him exemption to the company rule. There was no royal decree, renewable every year, to bail out Khuwalidi this time.
After Al-Khuwalidi’s request was turned down General Presidency of Youth Welfare President Prince Sultan ibn Fahd wrote Aramco a letter seeking Al-Khuwalidi exemption. Still Aramco won’t budge.
This upset Al-Khuwalidi but he decided to remain in the country thinking his future with the company, and until the federation secures the royal decree.
Prince Nawaf ibn Mohammed, president of the Saudi Athletics Federation was displeased with the news. He said it is a shame that the president of Aramco, Abdullah Joumah, did not cooperate. He said the president was a former athlete and understands what it takes to excel in sports including the need to be free from emotional or mental stress. Aramco, the prince added, being a company of such fame and reputation is expected to support its employees emotionally and financially instead of hindering their way to success.
Though the prince said all expenses are paid for at training camp they respected Al-Khuwalidi’s decision to put priority in his source of livelihood and also, the athlete’s state of mind will have a bearing on his performance.
“Rejecting the athletes requests for a leave for training is going to have a negative effect on our athletes. This would be a misfortune if it is not well dealt with in order for the athletes to give their best and keep on performing well,” said the prince.
Interviewed by Arab News over the phone from the Eastern Province, Al-Khuwalidi said “I used to train for six months and time is running out and I do not want to lose after succeeding to qualify for the World Cup because I did not have time to train.”
The long jumper needs to train unhampered for upcoming international competitions. Besides the World Cup, he will compete in the 11th Pan Arab Games to be held in Egypt from Nov. 11 to 25, as well as in the Grand Prix Championships where the athlete collects points, and the more points collected the more international companies are attracted to support him.
As a national athlete, Al-Khuwalidi brought glory many times over to the Kingdom. He placed first in the Asian Indoor Championship in Tehran, Iran in 2004. He also won the silver medal for Saudi Arabia in the World Athletics Championships in 2006 in Stuttgart, Germany and the bronze in the World Cup in Athens, Greece in the same year. According to the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), Al-Khuwalidi is No. 6 in the world rankings. “I want to improve my ranking and be up there with the world’s best,” he said.
Al-Khuwalidi said he could not deny Aramco had been always supporting him, but they just want to do it the right way.
“All my teammates had left already and I am hoping I would join them soon. The federation promised the royal decree will arrive within this week, and I hope it does,” he said.
