Booming Saudi sports showcased with awards and first expo 

SFA Expo and Community Sports Group Awards took place on Saturday night. (Supplied/SFA)
SFA Expo and Community Sports Group Awards took place on Saturday night. (Supplied/SFA)
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Updated 21 May 2023

Booming Saudi sports showcased with awards and first expo 

Booming Saudi sports showcased with awards and first expo 
  • Community groups honored at three-day SFA Expo in Riyadh 

RIYADH: The Saudi Sports for All Federation on Saturday concluded the first SFA Expo in the presence of Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud.

The President of the Saudi Sports for All Federation was joined by Khalid Abdullah Albaker, CEO of Quality of Life,  Shaima Saleh Al-Husseini, SFA Managing Director, and Kholoud Al Junaibi, Secretary-General of UAE Sports for All Federation.

The exhibition, at Riyadh Front Exhibition & Convention Center, included a range of sessions and workshops delivered by more than 90 sports experts and trainers, with many more from around the world attending with a view to invest in the Saudi market.

Prizes were given in the Community Sports Group Awards to groups advancing the Saudi sports industry and regional sports culture. The categories were: the most active community sports group on the SFA app; most unique event idea; most effective sustainable and community service initiative and most active male or female university group.

Al-Husseini said: “We are very pleased to have hosted the SFA Expo. The exhibition will help to raise the Kingdom’s profile on the global stage as a world-class sports hub. 

“It will shine an even brighter spotlight on the importance of sport and physical activity to the economy and society, encouraging more people and families to lead healthy, active lifestyles.”

The exhibition allowed visitors to interact with leading global and regional brands in the sports and fitness sector, attend panel discussions and workshops, and view and participate in competitions that added more excitement and fun to the event. 

It also provided professionals, athletes, trainers, and fitness enthusiasts worldwide with an appropriate platform to discuss challenges in the sports field.

It was launched to contribute to the growth and development of the Saudi sports industry, bolster local sports infrastructure, and transform regional community sports.

It was supported by leading bodies such as the Ministry of Sport, Ministry of Investment, Saudi Business Center, and Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee.


Declan Rice set to leave West Ham after winning European trophy, club chairman says

Declan Rice set to leave West Ham after winning European trophy, club chairman says
Updated 13 sec ago

Declan Rice set to leave West Ham after winning European trophy, club chairman says

Declan Rice set to leave West Ham after winning European trophy, club chairman says
LONDON: England midfielder Declan Rice looks to have played his final match for West Ham.
Rice, who captained West Ham in their victory over Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday, has been promised he can leave the club and wants to go, chairman David Sullivan said.
“You can’t keep a player who doesn’t want to be there,” Sullivan told British radio station Talksport on Thursday.
Rice has been linked with some of Europe’s top teams, including Arsenal and Bayern Munich.
“It’s not something we want to happen,” Sullivan said. “We offered him 200,000 pounds ($250,000) a week 18 months ago. He turned it down.”
The 24-year-old Rice has played for West Ham since 2017. He said after Wednesday’s final that “it’s not a goodbye yet.”
“Obviously there’s loads of speculation, but nothing’s happened,” Rice said. “I’m a West Ham player, I’ve got two years left on my contract. I love every minute of it.”
Sullivan said West Ham has yet to receive an offer.
“But I think the offers will start to come today,” Sullivan said. “There are three or four clubs who have shown interest, but out of respect to West Ham, while we’re still playing, you don’t make offers for players.”

Real estate developer ROSHN becomes platinum sponsor of Saudi champions Al-Ittihad

Real estate developer ROSHN becomes platinum sponsor of Saudi champions Al-Ittihad
Updated 08 June 2023

Real estate developer ROSHN becomes platinum sponsor of Saudi champions Al-Ittihad

Real estate developer ROSHN becomes platinum sponsor of Saudi champions Al-Ittihad
  • Citing the recent signing of Benzema, ROSHN Group CEO highlighted club’s importance to Saudi sport

RIYADH: Real estate developer ROSHN has signed a three-year deal to become the platinum sponsor of Saudi Pro League champions Al-Ittihad.

This sponsorship is part of the Public Investment Fund-owned company’s support for the development of the Kingdom’s sports sector, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.

ROSHN Group CEO David Grover described Al-Ittihad as an important part of the Saudi sports scene, citing the team’s recent signing of French superstar striker Karim Benzema.

Abdulwahab Abed, the CEO of Al-Ittihad, said the sponsorship deal comes at the end of a successful season during which the club won the Saudi Super Cup and the Roshn Saudi League. The sponsorship will allow the team to expand and develop, he added, particularly as it prepares to play regionally and internationally next season.

ROSHN has previously sponsored the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Jeddah and the LIV Golf Invitational, also in Jeddah.
 


Benzema happy to be in ‘beloved and beautiful’ Saudi Arabia and ready to push his limits

Karim Benzema signs for Saudi club Al Ittihad. (Supplied/Al-Ittihad)
Karim Benzema signs for Saudi club Al Ittihad. (Supplied/Al-Ittihad)
Updated 08 June 2023

Benzema happy to be in ‘beloved and beautiful’ Saudi Arabia and ready to push his limits

Karim Benzema signs for Saudi club Al Ittihad. (Supplied/Al-Ittihad)
  • New Al-Ittihad star is looking forward to playing against former Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo
  • Benzema eager to encourage more youngsters and females to enjoy football

JEDDAH: New Al Ittihad signing Karim Benzema is looking forward to getting results in front of the ‘passionate’ Saudi fans and delivering trophies to his “legendary” new club in a competitive league which he believes is improving year on year.

The current holder of the Ballon d’or signed for the Jeddah based club following 14 seasons of domestic and European glory with Spanish giants Real Madrid and is hoping that his experience can bring plenty of honours for his new club, the recently crowned Saudi Pro League champions.

Speaking on an exclusive interview published on the club Twitter and Instagram and Saudi Pro League channels, he said: “I hope for my new club, what I’ll be able to bring is my football and most importantly to be able to win titles. It’s a new chapter for me and I would like to further advance the club. It’s a club with a lot of passion. I would like the fans to find themselves in me. I would like to leave a lasting legacy, because I love football. I always have this competitiveness to push my limits and go even higher. That’s why I’m going to be well prepared to give them and show them my talent.”

When asked why came to Saudi Arabia, he stated: “Well because I am Muslim and it’s a Muslim country. I’ve always wanted to live there. I’ve already been to Saudi Arabia and I feel good about it. Most importantly it’s a Muslim country, it’s beloved and it’s beautiful. When I had a conversation with my family I was signing with Saudi Arabia, they were all very happy and here i am, to me it’s where I want to be.”

Speaking about the footballing standards of the players in the Saudi Pro League, he added: “I heard a lot of things, it’s a good championship and there are many good players… each year they take go a level higher. I saw the World Cup, they (Saudi Arabia) played a good game, great matches, especially against (eventual World Cup champions) Argentina. Obviously, they have very good players.”

Benzema famously created a potent attacking threat alongside Cristiano Ronaldo during a highly successful spell at Real Madrid, and he will be lining up against his former Bernabeu team-mate next season, after the Portuguese sensation joined Al-Nassr in Riyadh last term.

Benzema admits that his former team-mate is playing an important role in elevating the standard and profile of Saudi football.

“It’s important also that Cristiano Ronaldo is in Saudi Arabia, because he’s a very big player. He brings a lot to the game in this country and that will further elevate their playing level,” he said. “So it’s important to show that Saudi football can have a global impact because it’s not about playing in Saudi Arabia or not performing. No, on the contrary I have to push and show all that I was able to do in Europe and and bring it back with me to Saudi Arabia.

The lure of playing for Al-Ittihad, the oldest sports club in Saudi Arabia, was strong for Benzema. Explaining his decision to swap life in Madrid for Jeddah, he said: “It’s one of the top clubs in Saudi Arabia. It’s a club that sees a lot of passion from its fan and has many trophies.

“I would really like to further elevate the club. The stadium is exceptional, and as I said and will repeat; there’s so much passion - a good team always needs fans. The fans are very important, and with that passion, it gives us the motivation to be best on the field.”

Benzema’s signing is part of a new phase in brand-building for the SPL, aimed at generating greater global awareness, engaging more Saudi football fans across society, and encouraging greater community participation in sports, as part of Vision2030, the ambitious transformational plan. Over the last season of the Saudi Pro League, Al-Ittihad Club welcomed over 600,000 fans, more than any other club in the league and was watched from 48 different channels and platforms across 170 countries.   

The striker hopes it will have an impact on football fans all over the country. He said: “The message for all the young people who play football, who love football is to build their dreams, to work hard, to respect the rules of the game, which means respecting the human being, and to always have pleasure in playing football. And never give up; we can always achieve when we put in the work.”

On whether his high-profile signing will encourage more women to participate in football, he added: “Football is important for everyone - for women, for men and we see it even in Europe, they have female teams including the Champions League. It’s important to be supportive, and therefore whether it’s men or women, we are here to support. For women, I’m happy to be part of this family.”

Aside from football, Benzema admitted he had other reasons for moving to Saudi Arabia, stating his Muslim faith as playing a big part in the decision.

“I feel people already like me. And it will allow me to have a new life,” he said. “I would like to learn Arabic and speak fluently, it’s important for me. I’ve already been to Saudi Arabia, Mecca is very close (to Jeddah) and as a believer it’s important for me, this is where I will feel at my best and in my element.

The French star touched down at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport late Wednesday, June 7 ahead of his official unveiling in Saudi Arabia.


Disqualified Japanese player Kato becomes French Open champion

Disqualified Japanese player Kato becomes French Open champion
Updated 08 June 2023

Disqualified Japanese player Kato becomes French Open champion

Disqualified Japanese player Kato becomes French Open champion
  • Kato and her German partner Tim Puetz defeated Bianca Andreescu and Michael Venus 4-6, 6-4, 10-6 in the mixed doubles final at Roland Garros
  • "It has been challenging mentally in the last few days after my unjust disqualification from the women's doubles," Kato told the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd

PARIS: Japan’s Miyu Kato became a French Open champion on Thursday, four days after she was controversially disqualified from the women’s doubles for accidentally hitting a ball girl.
Kato and her German partner Tim Puetz defeated Bianca Andreescu and Michael Venus 4-6, 6-4, 10-6 in the mixed doubles final at Roland Garros.
“It has been challenging mentally in the last few days after my unjust disqualification from the women’s doubles,” Kato told the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd, reading from a prepared statement.
“Thanks to all the players for their heartfelt messages of support. I used that positive energy on court here today.
“I am now looking for a positive result to my appeal so I can reclaim my prize money, points and my reputation.”
Puetz said he hoped the title would help Kato after the drama of the default.
“I hope this is redemption for you after what happened. The support you received was well deserved.”
The 28-year-old Kato and her Indonesian teammate Aldila Sutjiadi were defaulted on Sunday after a gentle lob from the Japanese player left a ballgirl in tears and shaking.
Initially, the pair were handed only a warning by the chair umpire but their opponents Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo protested and urged the tournament supervisor to look again at the incident.
Kato and Sutjiadi were then disqualified. Kato also had to forfeit her prize money.
“I hope the ballgirl is OK and I hope we get to play Marie and Sara again,” said Kato.


Iron Sheik leaves behind a pioneering world wrestling legacy

Iron Sheik leaves behind a pioneering world wrestling legacy
Updated 08 June 2023

Iron Sheik leaves behind a pioneering world wrestling legacy

Iron Sheik leaves behind a pioneering world wrestling legacy
  • Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, who played a variety of villains and heroes throughout his career, passed away at 81 on Wednesday

RIYADH: The professional wrestling world this week lost a pioneering figure in Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, better known to fans as the Iron Sheik.

The Persian trailblazer is a former WWE champion, tag team belt holder and, in 2005, was inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame.

Vaziri, born on March 15, 1942, in Damghan, Semnan province, Iran, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 81.

Throughout the majority of his career, the Iron Sheik played the role of fanatical foreign menace, attracting hate from fans, particularly in the US.

Often mistaken for an Arab, Vaziri was the first major presence from the Iranian wrestling scene at international level.

He competed for Iran’s Greco-Roman wrestling team at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, and later moved to the US where he became the assistant coach of two Olympic wrestling squads in the 1970s.

In 1971, Vaziri became the Amateur Athletic Union Greco-Roman wrestling champion and gold medalist, and later assistant coach to the US team at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.

That same year Vaziri was invited to become a professional wrestler for promoter Verne Gagne’s American Wrestling Association.

After competing for various promotions, the Iron Sheik’s evil, foreign-menace persona, as well as his wrestling skills, caught the attention of the WWE, then still the World Wrestling Federation, in 1979.

He made his debut in grand fashion by winning the first-ever Battle Royal at Madison Square Garden in New York City. This earned the Iron Sheik an unsuccessful title shot later that night against then-WWF champion Bob Backlund in a memorable 30-minute showdown.

After several touring stints with other promotions, Vaziri returned to the WWF in 1983 and challenged Backlund for the World Heavyweight Championship again, this time successfully, making him the first Persian to achieve that feat in wrestling.

A year later, the Sheik was scheduled to have a rematch with Backlund, who was replaced by Hulk Hogan. Hogan won his first WWF championship after delivering his signature leg-drop move, in a moment chronicled by many as the beginning of “Hulkamania.”

Vaziri then had a memorable feud with Sgt. Slaughter, who played the role of a member of the US military. This rivalry played off the timely tensions between the US and the Sheik’s homeland of Iran. The two had a macabre “boot camp” match in June 1984 at Madison Square Garden that is highly acclaimed by wrestling fans to this day.

Ramping up his bad-guy image, the Iron Sheik partnered with another hate figure to US audiences in Nikolai Volkoff of the Soviet Union.

The pair competed under the management of “Classy” Freddie Blassie, and together won the WWF World Tag Team Championship from The US Express — Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo — at the inaugural WrestleMania in 1985.

After further forays into other wrestling promotions, Vaziri returned to the WWF in 1991 as Colonel Mustafa, and was now aligned with former enemy Sgt. Slaughter, alongside Adnan Al-Kaissie, a former Iraqi professional wrestler and manager, who was known as General Adnan.

Sgt. Slaughter and Colonel Mustafa were portrayed as Iraqi sympathizers through the duration of the Gulf War, and the trio became known as the Triangle of Terror, sparking inevitable hatred from WWE fans by feuding with Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior.

At WrestleMania 17 in 2001, Vaziri won a Gimmick Battle Royal match between other popular or outlandish wrestlers from the 1980s and 1990s.

The villainous Iron Sheik, who by then had gained a cult following among wrestling fans, was now cheered by those who once jeered him. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2005.