JEDDAH, 15 June 2007 — For the past 17 years the same question has been raised: Which club is most deserving of the championship? Is it the team that came on top after 23 matches, or the team that won two to three games in the final four before being crowned?
Prince Khaled ibn Abdullah, honorary member of Al-Ahli Club, has weighed in on the question by saying it’s about time that the Golden Four Knockout tournament system was scrapped.
“The cancellation of the Golden Four was long overdue,” said the prince, in an interview in the Saudi sports publication Arriyadiyah, an Arab News sister publication.
He said the excitement and suspense of the Golden Four Knockout, which has been going on for 17 years, was confined to a few matches in the tournament while the rest of the first and second league game’s pace were viewed as slow and weak.
Prince Khaled said the new version of the Saudi league this upcoming season would be the “fairest and most recognized internationally”.
The new system is the team that gains the most points at the end of the tournament is crowned champion. Prince Khaled added that the old system has been unfair to a number of teams that have top the league in the end of the season and lose the season’s efforts in the final four knock out. Prince Khaled praised the new tournament system implemented, but added that the Saudi Football Federation is going to face a problem next year for there are four tournaments instead of three and this may cause a problem in scheduling club matches on both international and local levels.
He said that it should not be left to the efforts of the local sports media that tend in some cases to highlight history based on the teams they support not on facts.
Speaking on Prince Faisal Cup, he said: “It is the best preparation for young players to crack a chance in joining the teams first squad.”
He suggested that it should be played under the same system of the general Saudi league. If that is not possible, he added that the teams should be divided into two groups. Each group made out of six teams, every team would play home and away.
Prince Khaled also recommended that a new categorization for players less than 23 years of age is necessary, as well as a minimum age of participation. He also added that regulations that allow 5 players from the first team to participate in King Faisal tournament should be under certain guidelines.
For example the players that have been out of the game for injury and suspension should participate in the tournament. He said that the number of players retiring is less then the number of young players wanting a shot to represent the first team. This he says calls for the necessity of having a middle stage between the two levels. Prince Khaled also says that the prize money for the winner of the Saudi league should be increased due to the difficulty and length of this tournament.
Prince Khaled also said that the club’s incomes compared to the past has increased due to the investment contracts being signed and players transfer money used. Prince Khaled added that the financial spending system in the clubs should develop to make use of the income. Prince Khaled said the clubs are not spending their money smartly because they are operating on the old financial spending system despite the large increase in income, he added. Prince Khaled said clubs administrations should be aware that they are spending public money not individual donations and that it should be spent wisely.
“A piece of that pie should go to other different sports in the club, not only left with the crumbs,” he said.
Prince Khaled was one of the first prominent Saudi sports individuals to call on bringing foreign referees to major matches and finals, which he said proved to be very successful.
“This is not to undercut our local referees’,” he said. “But we as a sports society of all levels have placed our local referees under extreme pressure by pointing accusations that naturally lead them to committing more mistakes.”
Prince Khaled suggested that at least three prominent foreign experts in the field should be hired to evaluate and develop the skills of current and future local referees.
He also recommended that the players transform committee should make the players contracts more clear under set regulations and punishments to stop foul play by some club administrations that seek to sign up players while their contracts are still running with their clubs.
Prince Khaled called on the newly appointed head of the Players Transfer Committee, Saleh ibn Nasser, to use his vast experience working in the Saudi league to overcome the past mistakes and treat teams equally.
He said that the committee should call on clubs to submit recommendations since they are the sectors that deal with players contract. He pointed out: “We have witnessed that a number of players performance drop as soon as they received their contract money in advance.”
“It should be one set scheduled payment system that benefits both the player and club,” he added.
