JEDDAH, 30 December 2007 — It seems that Saudis weren’t team players in 2007. A series of disappointing defeats in football this past year were, however, tempered by personal achievements by individual players, not only on the football pitch but also in other athletic competitions.
Saudi sports enthusiasts hailed the Saudi national team’s performance at the AFC Asian Championship in July, but despite their valiant efforts the team lost against Iraq 0-1 in the final. In the 18th Gulf Cup earlier in January, Saudi Arabia also failed to advance to the semifinals. In the 11th Pan-Arab Games held in Egypt in November, Saudi Arabia had to settle for third place despite that only five countries participated with none using their first teams.
In 2007, the Saudi Premier League champion was Al-Ittihad Club of the Western Region, which also made it to the Top 100 best teams in the world in October, according to the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). The same club also topped the world clubs in a poll conducted by BBC Radio website in December. Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli remain the most diverse clubs that support various sports, not just the perennial favorite: Football.
On the brighter side: Hilal Club’s Yasser Al-Qahtani being chosen Asian Player of the Year in November tempered the Saudi sports fan’s chain of disappointments.
Other Saudi team competitions were eclipsed by individual achievements. Big hopes were pinned on the 2006 15th Asian Games bronze medalists in volleyball, yet a surprising downgrade in the team performance was seen last year. It wasn’t all bad news, though: Saudi’s Hilal volleyball team won silver at the Asia Volleyball Championship in June in Bahrain.
In other team action (or lack of): The Saudi basketball team excused itself at the last minute from participating at the 24th FIBA-Asia Men’s Championship in July due to player injuries. The team also failed to qualify for the quarterfinals at the Arab Games in November.
Handball, on the other hand, was back on track this year when the Saudi team won the 18th Gulf Cup and the team’s goalkeeper Manaf Yousif was awarded Best Goalkeeper Award. The team was also placed third at the Arab Games. Water Polo also moved forward after Saudis raked in the silver medal at the Arab Games.
Besides the world’s most popular sport, Saudi Arabia has 27 other athletic activities in addition to the 10 devoted to handicapped athletes. It became clear that Saudi sporting events in 2007 would be remembered by the actions of individual athletes rather than teams.
Despite the tepid records this past year in team sport, the performance of individual Saudi athletes were par excellence at the 11th World Athletics Championship in Osaka, Japan, in September. To start with, nine players qualified to compete, the highest number on record for the Kingdom. Saudi athletes also managed to place second with 11 medals in April at the GCC Athletics Championship (which comprises teams from Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Oman). They placed second again at the 15th Arab Athletics Championship in May with six gold and three silvers. At the 2nd Asian Indoor Games in Macau, Saudi athletes won three gold medals and one silver medal; they also brought home the largest number of medals from the Arab Games with 16 medals (four gold, eight silver and four bronze), not to mention breaking a new Arab record via long jumper Mohammad Al-Khuwaildi.
Veteran Hadi Souan, winner of the 400-meter hurdles silver medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was also nominated to serve from 2007 to 2011 at the Athletes Committee at the Olympic Council of Asia along with five other Saudis. He was recognized among the Arab Olympians athletes at the Arab Games in a prestigious ceremony. Judoka Eissa Magrashi and Saeed Al-Mutairi won gold medals in skeet shooting at the Arab Games, too, raising the profile of this competition in the Kingdom.
Saudi equestrians also brought glory to the Kingdom when Prince Abdullah ibn Miteb qualified for the 2008 World Cup final in the United States. The Saudi riders consistently perform well in Gulf, Arab and Asian regional competitions.
Individual performances in bowling and snooker also made it on the radar in 2007. Young talent Badr Al-Shaikh became the first Arab to compete at the 2007 World Tenpin Masters in England in April; he placed fifth. He also won the boys all-events gold medal at the 14th Asian Youth Tenpin Bowling Championship held in China in August. In snooker, twins Ahmed and Nezar Aseeri were successful in placing fourth for the first time in Saudi history at the 2nd Asian Indoor Games.
Handicapped athletes received their props this past year when five new clubs were established, one each in Madinah, Hail, Taif, Al-Ahsa and Abha. These clubs have been granted SR500,000 a year to promote athletes with special needs.
Other Highlights
• Saudi authorities conducted an awareness-raising campaign in 2007 to prevent doping in sports. Several lectures were given to the athletes before and during their competitions. The Kingdom has appointed 12 so-called Doping Control Officers (DCO) from the Saudi Arabian Anti-Doping Committee to monitor athletes and ensure they avoid cheating.
• Much to the chagrin of many an aspiring athlete, little progress was made to promote women in sports in 2007. Saudi public schools still do not offer physical education classes for girls. Saudi women still cannot compete in the Olympics. Some progress has been made, but mostly from the private sector. For example, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has been a vocal and financial supporter of Saudi women in equestrian competitions. Meanwhile, at least one Saudi woman has taken a different route to prominence: 27-year-old Marwa Al-Eifa raised her profile as a rally driver, but she did this from her home in Bahrain, where women can drive on and off the racetrack.
• The year began with a big loss to Saudi Arabia when Abdullah Al-Dabal, president of the Professionalism Committee at the Saudi Arabian Football Federation and a member of the Federation Internationale de Football Association’s Executive Committee, died in January. To honor his achievements an award was created by FIFA titled, “Abdullah Al-Dabal Most Valuable Player Award.”
• The Kingdom implemented new rules and regulations this year in football. Professionals are now able to move from one club to another after the age of 18 instead of 21 and for a period of time that does not exceed five years.
• This year saw a change in the name of the league to the “Saudi Football League for Premier Teams” (a.k.a. the “Saudi Premier League”) from the less-regal “Saudi Football League Competition.” The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Champion’s Cup was also formed, which includes eight teams. The Crown Prince Cup continues to run with 16 teams, 12 of which come from the majors.