JEDDAH, 15 April 2008 — Al-Shabab and Al-Ahli will face each other in a home and away match after the draw for the King’s Cup for Champions that was held in Riyadh yesterday.
This new competition features eight teams composed of the champions of the Crown Prince Cup and Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Cup and the top six teams in the Saudi Premier football league.
In case the cup champions are among the top six the next two teams in the team standings move up to complete the quarterfinal cast.
Al-Ittihad drew Al-Ittifaq in a separate quarterfinal series between them, while Prince Faisal Cup champions Al-Nasr are to meet Al-Hazem of Al-Rass and Al-Hilal, owners of the Crown Prince Cup and league double, battle the Makkah-based Wehda in another tough match.
In the semifinals, the winner of the Hilal-Wehda tie will face the winner of the match between Ittihad and Ittifaq, and the Ahli-Shabab series winner goes on to meet the Nasr-Hazem match winner. Playdates would be announced soon.
While Hilal and Nasr qualified as cup winners they also happened to be in the top six to guarantee the last two spots for Hazem and Ahli, the seventh and eighth teams in the league standings.
Ittihad, Shabab, Ittifaq and Wehda all advanced by finishing among the top six in the league.
