JEDDAH, 8 January 2008 — Despite all the good things Abdulaziz Al-Abbad did for Al-Ittihad, the table tennis player suffers from a lack of support from his club and misses out on tempting offers from other clubs.
“We want to improve as players but the lack of support at Al-Ittihad club this year is not helping us become better players,” said Al-Abbad, speaking to Arab News.
Al-Abbad explained that for up to three months now, the Al-Ittihad table tennis team has not gathered to train. They also do not have a coach and have not received their allowances for accommodation.
“We have local and other championships abroad, and if we want to represent our club in an honorable way then they have to provide us with better facilities, coaches and training camps for the whole team,” he said.
Al-Abbad was recently transferred to play for Al-Fath club during the Arab Table Tennis Championship held in Jordan in November. With his impressive talent, the team won the cup, and Al-Abbad’s performance prompted Al-Fath to offer him a SR400,000 contract.
However, the Saudi Table Tennis Federation does not have a professional set procedure for the transfer of athletes between clubs. Once a player signs for a club they stay until the club decides to let go of them or sell them to other clubs, and Ittihad refused to allow Al-Abbad to move to Al-Fath. “The Al-Fath offer and atmosphere would have been more positive for me during this period of my career, yet even if I wanted to go there I could not unless Ittihad agree,” he said. The athlete is now asking for compensation from Ittihad, a rise in his monthly allowances and support from the club he has played for since 2001.
Al-Abbad has a roomful of table tennis trophies. He won the Arab singles Championship in Jordan in 2002. He also has won the Gulf Championships four times in team events, and won the Arab Championships twice in team events, an impressive record for a player who is being held back by continuing backwardness in sport in the Kingdom.
