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Riyadh: The Saudi King’s Cup football tournament will kick off on Tuesday, Dec. 20.
The tournament is one of the oldest in the Kingdom and was first held in 1957. Competition continued until 1990 before an 18-year break, with the contest returning in 2008.
Al-Ahli, with 13 crowns, tops of the list of clubs with the highest number of King’s Cup titles, while Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad are second with nine, and Al-Nassr third with six.
Al-Fayha won the most recent tournament for the first time in the club’s history, beating Al-Hilal on penalties.
The tournament involves a single-match, knockout system until the final.
Participating clubs are: Al-Shabab, Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, Ittihad, Damac, Abha, Al-Tai, Al-Fayha, Ettifaq, Al-Fateh, Al-Wehda, Al-Raed, Al-Adalah, Khaleej, Al-Batin and Al-Taawoun.
The winning team will receive SR10 million ($2.7 million) and qualify to participate directly in the AFC Champions League, while the runner-up will receive SR5 million.
Round 16 matches are:
* Damac will play Al-Wehda on Dec. 19
* Al-Fayha will play Khaleej on Dec. 19
* Abha will will play Al-Taawoun on Dec. 21
* Al-Hillal will play Ettifaq on Dec. 21
* Al-Nassr will play Al-Adalah on Dec. 21
* Al-Batin will play Al-Raed on Dec. 22
* Al-Fateh will play Al-Tai on Dec. 22
* Ittihad will play Al-Shabab on Dec. 22
RIYADH: The Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co. has signed a deal to sponsor Al-Ittihad football club for the next three years.
The pact includes commercial and marketing rights that would benefit both sides, according to statements from the parties. The SRC is wholly owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Majeed Fahad Alabduljabbar, deputy CEO of the SRC, said: “The sponsorship is part of SRC’s support for the development of the Kingdom’s thriving sports sector and the key objectives of Vision 2030’s Quality of Life Program to promote sporting activity.
“Sports and entertainment have become increasingly prominent to the Saudi economy and play a crucial role in the country’s future development, making it an attractive destination across various industries. We take great pride in being part of the Kingdom’s sports sector development.”
Abdulwahab Abed, CEO of Al-Ittihad, said: “This partnership with SRC would foster the club’s expansion and provide support for its domestic and international endeavors moving forward.”
The SRC was established in 2017 and obtained a license from the Saudi central bank to operate in real estate refinancing through the secondary market.
RIYADH: Gamers8: The Land of Heroes, the biggest esports and gaming festival in the world, has launched its summer schedule with 16 of the world’s best TEKKEN 7 sides battling it out in the new competition for prize money of $1 million.
Organized by the Saudi Esports Federation live from Boulevard Riyadh City, the TEKKEN 7 Nations Cup marks the franchise’s debut at Gamers8.
Each team will choose a roster of more than 50 characters as they fight to progress through the competition and claim their share of the prize pool.
Running from July 6 to 9, the tournament will provide story-driven cinematic battles and duels for those in attendance and the watching global audience. Alongside the Fortnite tournament, TEKKEN 7 is opening Gamers8: The Land of Heroes with a top prize of $500,000 awaiting the victors.
TEKKEN 7 ranks among the most popular instalments in gaming franchise history and is one of the top 10 best-selling fighting games ever.
Faisal bin Homran, the federation’s director of esports, said: “We are incredibly excited to have a TEKKEN 7 tournament as part of Gamers8: The Land of Heroes and this upcoming event is certain to capture the interest and imagination of gamers near and far.
“Welcoming a franchise with such prestige and enduring appeal as TEKKEN really highlights how our festival has evolved in such a short period of time.
“By bringing all the greatest TEKKEN 7 players on the planet to Riyadh to compete against each other in this special tournament, I’m thrilled that our vision has been realized,” he added.
RIYADH: Falcon HQ, one of the main attractions at Gamers8: The Land of Heroes is offering gamers the chance to play against their favorite Team Falcons influencers.
Powered by stc play, which will be partnering with the organizers, the Saudi Esports Federation, for the rest of the year, Falcons HQ will be hosting matchups between gamers and the likes of star influencer BanderitaX, among others.
Located at Boulevard Riyadh City, where the world’s biggest gaming and esports festival is being held for eight weeks from July 6, visitors to the Falcons HQ will also be provided with exclusive gaming tips, engagements, the chance to play the most popular games from a wide variety of globally renowned titles, and lots more.
Gamers8: The Land of Heroes – which has a prize pool of $45 million, triple that of the inaugural Gamers8 last year – features elite gaming titles alongside live concerts from the biggest global, regional and local artists.
The festival concludes with the Next World Forum, a gaming and esports conference at the Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh in Kingdom Center on Aug. 30 and 31, that brings together sector leaders and experts from around the world.
A few months ago, the prospect of Roberto Firmino swapping the famous red shirt of Liverpool for the green of Al-Ahli would have been laughed off. After all, the Brazilian was, and is, a legend at Anfield.
His eight years at the six-time European champions saw 362 games, 111 goals and seven trophies, including the English Premier League, the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup.
At the same time, Al-Ahli were in the second tier after a shock relegation.
Fortunately, the Jeddah giants bounced straight back and are now preparing for a hugely exciting return to the big time.
The club, still without a coach after the departure of Pitso Mosimane, now have Edouard Mendy in goal after the Senegalese shot-stopper arrived from Chelsea in the last week of June. And now they have the Brazilian, long affectionately known as “Bobby” by Liverpool fans. It is another major coup for the league and especially for Al-Ahli who really are now back in the big time.
Firmino, who has signed a three-year deal, is a skillful, wily player who creates goals and scores them. A hard worker who can play in a variety of positions in attack, he is a dream for any coach and for his teammates and surely he will be missed next season by a certain Mohamed Salah in England, though the Egyptian has also been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia. Liverpool fans will now be able to see Firmino in action as well as other Anfield legends Steven Gerrard and Robbie Fowler coaching in the country.
It is another example of top-class talent coming to Saudi Arabia from the English Premier League, regarded by most as the best in the world. Just a few weeks ago, he was scoring goals in front of the Kop and now he is preparing to take Al-Ahli back into the upper reaches of the top tier.
Following the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves, Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante, Firmino is the first big-name South American to arrive in Saudi Arabia this summer. Fans back in Brazil will be keeping an eye or two on how he performs for his new club. There are not many high-profile Brazilians in the country at the moment.
Those watching back home should remember that this is not going to be an easy gig for Firmino.
For one, Al-Ahli are readjusting back to life in the big time. This is a big club and the players, much to the chagrin of Mosimane, did not celebrate upon winning promotion as they felt that such an achievement for a team that won the third of its Saudi Arabian championships as recently as 2016 was beneath them. Whether it was the right thing to do is a debate for a different time (Mosimane thought it wasn’t), but the club has been struggling for a while and while relegation was a surprise, it wasn’t a massive shock.
Now expectations are growing that they will return to what they see as their rightful place in the top three or four next season. That is not a given even with Mendy and Firmino. There are now 18 teams in the league and even those who are expected to be battling against relegation have firepower with forwards who can score given just half a chance.
Firmino will see with his own eyes. Even the likes of Ronaldo don’t get it all their own way, but if the former Liverpool man can help Al-Ahli get off to a good start next season and can develop an understanding with his fellow forwards, then this newly promoted team, not content with mere survival, will be one for the rest to fear.
Firmino’s arrival shows that Al-Ahli are back in the big time.
JEDDAH: Sudan’s Al-Hilal defeated Tunisia’s Sfaxien 1-0 on Tuesday in the first leg of the second preliminary round of the King Salman Cup 2023 qualifiers.
Al-Hilal’s goal was scored by Mohamed Abdel-Rahman in the first half from a penalty kick. The game was played at Hammadi Agrebi Olympic Stadium in Tunis’ suburb of Rades.
The two teams will meet again on July 7, hosted by Sfaxien, to determine qualification for the group stage, which will be held from July 27 to Aug. 12 in Saudi Arabia.
The winner of the Al-Hilal and Sfaxien game will join the first group, which includes Saud Arabia’s Al-Ittihad, Iraqi Police and Tunisia’s ES Altaraje.