JEDDAH, 18 November 2005 — Action in the Saudi soccer league continues with three matches today.
It will be Al-Wehda against Al-Hilal, Abha against Al-Hazem and Al-Shabab against Al-Ansar.
Hilal leads the team standings with 15 points. Shabab are second with 11, Wehda third with 10, Al-Qadisiya fourth also with 10, Al-Ahli fifth with 9, Al-Taie sixth with 7, Al-Nasr seventh with 5, Al-Ittihad eighth with 4, Al-Ittifaq ninth with 3, Al-Ansar 10th with 3, Al-Hazem 11th with 2 and Abha 12t with 1.
Meanwhile, the decision to take disciplinary action against Marzouk Al-Otaibi for spitting on coach Anghel Iordanescu had been put off pending the return of Ittihad President Mansour Al-Balawi from his trip.
Wehda Captain Khemi Calls It a Day
Hatem Khemi, captain of Al-Wehda football team of Makkah, had announced his retirement from soccer. Wehda club president, Jamal Tounsi, accepted Khemi’s decision to retire on condition that he agreed to work as an assistant to coach Lutfi Albanzarti.
Though unable to steer Wehda to victory Khemi said he at least kept his promise to his father not to leave Wehda despite “tempting offers in the last couple of years.”
Jeddah Equestrian Club Hosts Races
A six-race meeting to open the 1426-1427H season was organized recently by the Jeddah Equestrian Club.
Prince Faisal ibn Abdulmajeed attended the races for local and imported horses at distances of meters 1,200, 1,400 and 1,600. He also donated the prize money of SR150,000 awarded to the winners.
Volleyball Super League
Five games are on tap today in the resumption of the Saudi Volleyball Super League. Al-Safa face Nasr, Yarmouk battle Khuwaildeya, Nahda meet Khaleej, Ittihad play Hilal and Ahli take on Ittifaq. Hilal of Riyadh and Ahli of Jeddah both have 12 points from six games. Hilal, however, are in first place with a better set average over Ahli.
Standings: 1. Hilal 12 points 2. Ahli 12 3. Al-Safa 10 4. Ittihad 8 points, 5. Nasr 8 points, 6. Nahda 4 7. Khaleej 2 points, 8. Khuwaildeya 2 points, 9. Yarmouk 2 points, 10. Ittifaq 0
Sports TV Program:
Saudi Sports Channel announced on Kooora.com website it will air 10 hours program from Saturday to Wednesday and 12 hours during weekends. The new program schedule took effect on Nov. 12. Among the many programs that it will show is Alkhamees Alriyadi “The Sporty Thursday.” This program will present a wrapup of all the Saudi football news that happened during the week in 90 minutes. The Saudi Sport Channel will also design a website and a forum especially for this program for people to participate.
And along with the 3:15 p.m. and 1 p.m. breaking news, an additional 8 p.m. breaking news on sports will be added.
Kingdom-Paraguay Friendly
The Saudi Arabian national team will play two soccer friendly matches against Paraguay. The first match is scheduled for next Thursday at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah. Riyadh will host the second match at the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Stadium. The games are part of the national team’s preparations for the West Asian Tournament to be held Dec. 1- 9 in Doha and the World Cup 2006 in Germany.
