JEDDAH, 29 March 2005 — The dream of Al-Ahli club honorary member, Prince Khaled ibn Abdullah, to establish a soccer academy is now a reality.
The new academy, now nearing completion, is looking to equip players with a solid foundation by teaching them the fundamentals of football. Th academy is unique and first of its kind in the Middle East, in terms of facilities provided to players from football fields to training paraphernalia. Under the tutelage of experts, students will be taught soccer’s various schools of thought with emphasis on the player’s physical and mental shape.
The total cost of this project is close to SR5 million. The academy building cost SR3 million and the rest of the cost went to the many football fields. The academy manager is Dr. Mufti Ibrahim, from Egypt, with 20 years of experience. Dr. Mufti said: “My relationship with Saudi football goes back to more than 15 years ago when I started in 1986 as a football coach of the youth team. My relationship with the team strengthened since then, especially with the honorary member Prince Khaled ibn Abdullah. Two years ago, Prince Khaled talked with me about his dreams of establishing an academy that would cater to development of the youth.”
Ibrahim added: “He asked me to prepare a full study on establishing the academy better in style than international academies.”
Ibrahim said he gathered inputs about international football academies and visited many academies around the world, especially in Europe and South America.
The academy that Al-Ahli club is building would put into consideration the cultures and traditions in Saudi Arabia. The main goal of Al-Ahli Club is to serve the Saudi football through Al-Ahli Club. There are 56 steps that would help in establishing the academy using a team of specialists. Some of these steps are to establish training soccer fields for youth, special buildings, and equipment used for the training in addition to coaches that would supervise training.
The first stage plan covers four years and will introduce programs where the young player-student may enter upon payment of enrolment fee. It would cost the academy more than SR22,000 per young player a year. The registration will be announced soon.
Young players will be put through rigorous tests to identify their weak points. After finishing the course the player is expected to be talented and skillful enough to be potential candidate for the Saudi national team.
The academy targets young players between the ages of 8 and 14.
