JEDDAH, 12 September 2007 — The final draw for football in the 11th Pan Arab Games was finalized at yesterday’s meeting in Cairo with Port Said to host Group A matches for Palestine, Libya, UAE and host Egypt. Esmaiilia will host Group B matches for Saudi Arabia , Kuwait, Sudan and Yemen. A source from the Arab Games Organizing Committee in Egypt said the final match would be played at Cairo International Stadium. He added all the confirmed participants would be sending their first teams in the multievent competition set for Nov. 11 to 25. An estimated 6,500 athletes will do battle in 36 sport disciplines.
Basketball in Saudi Schools
JEDDAH, 12 September 2007 — Saudi Basketball Federation President Prince Talal ibn Badr ibn Saud said the new project to develop basketball in schools across the Kingdom would help find new talent from the grassroots level and promote the game.
To avoid problems they faced in the project’s first stages it has been agreed the program is to be limited among schools with indoor and outdoor facilities, according to the SBH chief.
Rain Disrupts Hanoi Training
JEDDAH, 12 September 2007 — Rain showers disrupted the training yesterday of the Saudi national football team for the Vietnam match in Hanoi today. It will be third meeting with Vietnam in the qualifying matches for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. The Saudi team are: Walid Abdullah, Khalid Sharahili, Kamel Al-Wabari, Jufain Al-Bishi, Mohammed Eid, Abdullah Shuhail, Majid Al-Omari, Ibrahim Sharahili, Sultan Al-Bishi, Abdullah Al-Astaa, Abdulatif Al-ghannam, Ahmed Al-Faridi, Abdulmalik Al-Khaibary, Moutazz Al-Moussa, Sanad Sharahili, Salih Al-Ghuwainem, Abdulaziz Alabdulsalam, Alaa Rishani, Yousif Al-Salim, Naif Hazzazi, Mohammed Al-Sahlawi and Abdulilah Hawasawi.
Hilal Stadium Ads Banned
JEDDAH, 12 September 2007 — King Fahd International Stadium management has banned Al-Hilal club from displaying advertisements at the stadium during the Thursday match between Hilal and Al-Taie because of problems with Hilal Investment. One of the advertising agencies in a tieup with Hilal Investment said they have been cleared by Hilal to display the ads though they still have to get approval from the KFIS management.
Wehda, Shabab Get Cash From ART
JEDDAH, 12 September 2007 — Saudi Arabia’s Wehda and Al-Shabab are among the 32 clubs to each receive $20,000 from sponsor ART Channel in the 5th Arab Champions League. The amount will be used to defray the team expenses for the away games in the first round.
Ittihad Down UAE’s Nasr 3-1
JEDDAH, 12 September 2007 — Al-Ittihad football club downed Nasr of UAE 3-1 on Monday in a friendly match at the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Stadium in Riyadh. Fans of Ittihad, who used the game as tuneup for the new Saudi league, were pleased with their team’s performance. Several Ittihad honorary members including Jamal Abu Omarah, the deputy-president under the new presidency of Mansour Al-Balawi, and Madani Rahimi, attended the match.
Al-Shareif Offer
JEDDAH, 12 September 2007 — Basim Al-Shareif of Al-Ittihad surprised Al-Ahli club management when he offered his services to their football team for SR 250,000. This after having had several trainings with Ahli’s German coach Theo Bucker. Ahli did not agree to the terms set by Al-Shareif, ending a deal between them.
