JEDDAH: It was about 40 years ago that a youthful Prince Khaled Al-Faisal first came up with the idea of launching a Gulf-level football tournament and cup.
Going down the memory lane with a touch of nostalgia, Prince Khaled, who is now Makkah governor, started speaking about the first Gulf tournament.
“I still remember that it was in 1968 when a Bahraini football team under Sheikh Muhammad bin Khalifa visited Riyadh. I strongly felt the need for a tournament for the whole region and broached the idea to King Faisal. After getting royal approval I discussed the matter with Sheikh Muhammad who expressed his desire to have the first tournament in his country,” Prince Khaled said.
“King Faisal ordered me to tell Sheikh Muhammad that the Kingdom was behind him to make the pioneering event a success. The sheikh informed me that Bahrain was fully geared to undertake the task and thus he and Bahrain had the credit of successfully hosting the tournament for the first ever Gulf Cup,” the prince said in an interview with Arab News.
Commenting on the new grouping system for the tournament replacing the old point system, the prince said, “The development of the tournament requires that the old system should change. Continuing on the same old style would chain the game in backwardness and would not help achieving the desired goal of developing the standard of sports in the Gulf.”
When asked if the standard of the football has risen in the region the prince replied, “Definitely, there is noticeable progress in the performance level of the teams in the Gulf. The footballers in the Gulf are striving to catch up with the international progress in the field.”
The prince is not for stopping regional championships as some people suggested.
“I believe that the tournament has been the driving force behind the better performance of the players, administrators and technical staff. It has also been instrumental in the construction of many sports stadiums and increasing the interest of governments in sports projects besides cultivating the passion for football in people.
The prince also supported the idea of holding a Gulf level Olympics every three or four years as well as continuing the present football championships.
“But its timing and other modalities should be left to sport officials in the region to decide as they are better aware of their potentials and other circumstances,” the prince added.
On a question on the positive results of the participation of Yemen in the Gulf Cup, the prince said it would help developing the level of football in that country.
The prince’s message to the heads of the football associations in the Gulf is that they should let their reason prevail over their emotions to achieve their desired sports goals.
The prince hoped that the media would play a considerable role in the development of sports in the region.
The prince also lauded the Gulf football fans for their better sports culture and sportsman spirit than any other people in the world.
