Al-Hilal rallies to hold Al-Ittihad in Saudi league

A last minute header by Nasser Al-Shumrani enabled Al-Hilal to hold Al-Ittihad 2-2 in a crucial Saudi Professional Premier soccer league match at the Al-Sharaya Stadium in Makkah on Thursday night.
Mukhtar Fallata (8th) and Abdulrahman Al-Ghamdi (46th) scored for the hosts while Salem Al-Dowsari (22nd) and Nasser Al-Shumrani (90th) found the mark for Al-Hilal.
The result of this match did not change their positions on the league table as Hilal stayed in the second place with 39 points while Ittihand are in the sixth spot with 22 points.
SR14m boost
for clubs
The Saudi Professional League Commission (SPLC) has deposited SR1 million in the account of each premier league club on Thursday. The sums represent the monthly payment of December 2013 for TV rights and the league’s sponsorship contract.
This payment is based on the new Saudi Football Federation (SFF) decision to distribute 80 percent of the revenues of TV rights the league sponsorship contract equally and 20 percent as per the clubs’ rankings by the end of the league.
There 14 clubs in the Saudi Professional League.
The SPLC has disbursed SR72.68 million to clubs since the beginning of the season.
The SFF had previously distributed the revenues as 50 percent and 50 percent, which was resisted by several clubs including Al-Ittifaq, Al-Faisali, Al-Raed, Al-Ta’awon, Najran, Al-Nahdha, Al-Orobah and Al-Shulah, who demanded to reduce the percentage that is distributed according to table ranking.
Head of the SPLC Muhammad Al-Nuwaiser has said that disagreement is only natural, however, the SPLC is determined to be neutral and give each club its right as per regulations. The revenues of TV rights are considered low and the largest income currently comes from the sponsorship contract, he said, assuring that the SPLCE’s share is the smallest. He said clubs’ commercial products are below the ambition and clubs are still depending on honorary members’ donations.