JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia has held the Kingdom’s first netball tournament onboard a cruise ship.
The event was held on the 4,500-passenger MSC Bellissima ship in the Red Sea. It was hosted by Saudi Netball, in collaboration with Sports for All and the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA).
The women-dominated sport is being promoted as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 to increase women’s participation in sport as part of a healthy and active lifestyle, STA said.
“Netball is an ideal sport to introduce across schools in the Kingdom,” said Princess Ghada bint Abdullah, chairwoman of Netball Saudi, adding: “As a game, netball is inviting, accessible, encouraging, fun, and inclusive. Its game rules ensure the equal participation of all players on the court.”
She said that “in netball, everyone contributes equally to the success of the team, regardless of the individual role they play. It is the perfect expression of an inclusive society.”
Just two teams took part in the three-round tournament, which was held on Thursday and Friday. The 16 players ranging from 13-23 years old came from the Riyadh-based Golden Sports Academy.
“Inclusion, the diversification of sports, and accessibility to sporting activities are three key objectives that drive our efforts to develop the sport across Saudi’s communities,” said Prince Khalid bin Al-Waleed, chairman of the Sports for All Federation.
He said his organization “sees a sizeable opportunity to support the development of netball in Saudi Arabia.”
Netball Saudi is one of 16 sports federations and committees announced by the Saudi Olympic Committee in May, as part of the committee’s effort to widen the range of sports offered and the number of sporting communities in the Kingdom, STC said.
Saudi Arabia hosts Kingdom’s first netball tournament — onboard a cruise ship
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Saudi Arabia hosts Kingdom’s first netball tournament — onboard a cruise ship
- The tournament was held on the 4,500-passenger MSC Bellissima ship in the Red Sea
- Netball Saudi is one of 16 sports federations and committees announced by the Saudi Olympic Committee in May
‘We’re going in there to win it’: Manchester City chairman targets FIFA Club World Cup success
- In part 2 of his review of the 2024-2025 season, Khaldoon Al-Mubarak looks forward to the FIFA Club World Cup and and the developments taking place across City Football Group
ABU DHABI: Manchester City’s chairman, Khaldoon Al-Mubarak, has provided his annual review of the season to the club’s official online channel. In part 2 of the interview he reveals the team’s desire to retain the FIFA Club world Cup taking place in June and discusses the developments taking place across City Football Group. Here are some of the highlights.
On the FIFA Club World Cup…
“Well, as the defending champions coming into this new format, of course, we’re very excited. We’re very excited to come in as champions. The format actually, I really like it.
“This is a very, very serious competition. I think, in the summer, the whole world will be watching this with a big number of the top teams in the world will be competing in this tournament.
“I can assure you we’re going to give it our best shot. We’re going in there to win it. This is the beginning of the new season, not the continuation of last season.
“The team will take the rest that they will take right now, and then they start pre-season and then immediately straight into the Club World Cup.”
On Manchester City’s North Stand redevelopment…
“It’s coming up very fast. It’s going to be a great addition to the campus. Once we start the new season, everybody will start physically seeing it a lot clearer.
“The hotel is also coming up nicely. It’s moving very, very fast, but we’re happy with the contractors on the ground. This is going to be a game changer. You will see over these next 12 to 18 months. This is going to be a game changer for the campus and for the club.”
On NYCFC…
“Well, more than the foundation, the work is fully now in full effect. Construction is happening at a fast pace. This is going to be an incredible stadium. We’re very excited about what we’re doing in New York, what we’re doing for that community in terms of a proper football stadium, with a team that now is closing in on 10 years.
“It’s been a great journey. And they’ve earned (it). They deserve a stadium, and finally, they’re going to get it. And we have now a line of sight of when it’s going to be finished and it’ll be transformative for football fans in New York, for our fan base, and really at a time where football is booming in America.”
On City Football Group…
“It’s developed very well. We look at City Football Group as a group, but then each team individually and each team gets the attention it requires and gets a lot of attention from the whole leadership team.
“There’s individuality with each club. Depending on where they are around the world, each one has its own requirements. But overall, one of the things that gives us confidence is how many similar models now are following our CFG model.
“There are a lot of other groups now that are pursuing what we have built at City Football Group, which tells you there’s an appreciation that this is a good model and it’s a model that’s effective.”
Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan face off in the Champions League final
- European club football’s biggest prize is at stake between two teams that have felt the pain of falling at the last hurdle in recent years
- Inter was a losing finalist against Manchester City in 2023 and PSG lost in its only final against Bayern Munich in 2020
MUNICH: Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan go head-to-head in the Champions League final in Munich on Saturday.
European club football’s biggest prize is at stake between two teams that have felt the pain of falling at the last hurdle in recent years.
Inter was a losing finalist against Manchester City in 2023 and PSG lost in its only final against Bayern Munich in 2020.
After spending billions of dollars and signing some of the sport’s greatest players like Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, PSG is still waiting to win its first Champions League title. Those superstars have now departed, but coach Luis Enrique has assembled one of the most exciting squads in Europe, with the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia filling the void left by that trio.
Enrique is aiming to win the competition for the second time as a coach, having lifted it with Barcelona in 2015, and would become the seventh coach to win the trophy with different teams.
“The motivation for me is to win the Champions League title for the first time for PSG,” he said. “That is the gift I want to give the people, the club, the city.”
Inter was looking for a treble just over a month ago, but is now left with the Champions League as its only possible trophy. It lost the Italian title by a point and was knocked out of the Italian Cup in the semifinals.
“These players in these four years did a lot — won a lot and lost sometimes. It happens. But we all gave our all, everyone. We are proud to be Inter,” coach Simone Inzaghi said. “I dreamed of playing the Champions League final. I didn’t do it as a player, but thanks to this group of players I’ve been in two finals as a head coach.”
Inter has won the Champions League or European Cup on three occasions, most recently in 2010.
When does the Champions League final begin?
The match at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. local time.
Alcaraz fights into French Open last 16 as Swiatek, Sabalenka progress
PARIS: Carlos Alcaraz survived a scare to book his place in the French Open last 16 on Friday, with defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka also through to the fourth round at Roland Garros.
Second seed Alcaraz won 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 against 69th-ranked Bosnian Damir Dzumhur in the night session to keep his title defense on course.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz arrived as the favorite at Roland Garros after securing the Monte Carlo Masters and Italian Open trophies in the build-up to the clay-court major.
But his fluctuating performances in the past two rounds have given his rivals reason to believe he is vulnerable.
“Today I honestly didn’t enjoy it that much. I suffered quite a lot,” said a relieved Alcaraz, who came from a break down in the fourth set to seal victory.
“That’s why doing a really good result in a Grand Slam is really difficult because you have to maintain a really high level for three to four hours.”
The 22-year-old next meets American 13th seed Ben Shelton who eased past Italian qualifier Matteo Gigante 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.
Swiatek kept her bid for a fourth consecutive French Open title on track, coming through 6-2, 7-5 against Romania’s world number 60 Jaqueline Cristian in sweltering conditions.
Swiatek broke the 60th-ranked Cristian twice in a comfortable first set, but she was pushed a lot harder by her rival in the second and had to save six break points.
“She really stepped up in the second set. I had to step up as well. It was an entertaining match,” said Swiatek, hoping to become the first woman to win four successive Roland Garros titles since Suzanne Lenglen 102 years ago.
The 23-year-old Pole will next play 12th seed Elena Rybakina after the Kazakh dispatched 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-2 in a clash of big hitters.
Swiatek has a 4-4 record against Rybakina but has lost both previous meetings on clay. However she was relieved at avoiding Ostapenko, who is 6-0 against her.
A grinning Swiatek suggested earlier she had no preference as to her last-16 opponent before asking: “Am I a good liar?“
“Let’s say it doesn’t matter, really. Oh, my God. I couldn’t play poker,” joked the world number five who has not won a title since last year’s French Open.
Sabalenka produced a dominant display in a 6-2, 6-3 win over 34th-ranked Serbian left-hander Olga Danilovic.
But the Madrid Open winner, whose best result at Roland Garros was a semifinal in Paris two years ago, insisted the pressure was on Swiatek.
“Let’s just leave it on Iga since she won it, what, three times in a row,” said Sabalenka.
The 27-year-old Belarusian next plays 16th-seeded American Amanda Anisimova who ousted Danish 22nd seed Clara Tauson 7-6 , 6-4 in their third-round tie.
Zheng Qinwen ended the run of Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko 6-3, 6-4.
The Chinese eighth seed has now won nine successive matches at Roland Garros following her run to Olympic gold last year.
Zheng is through to the fourth round in Paris for the second time and will next play Russian 19th seed Liudmila Samsonova who brushed aside Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska 6-2, 6-3.
Italian fourth seed Paolini eased past Ukrainian lucky loser Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-4, 6-1.
Runner-up last year at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, Paolini next plays Ukrainian 13th seed Elina Svitolina who dug deep to see off American Bernarda Pera 7-6 , 7-6 .
Eighth seed Musetti won 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 against Argentine Mariano Navone as he follows on from his runner-up finish in Monte Carlo and semifinal runs in Madrid and Rome.
But the Italian dropped his first set in Paris against world number 97 Navone.
“I’ve grown up a lot. A match like this I don’t know if I would come back a few years ago,” said Musetti.
“The heat was pretty tough to manage. But happy to find a way to turn around the match.”
Musetti next plays Rune who was two points from defeat in the fourth set before rallying past France’s Quentin Halys 4-6, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2.
American Tommy Paul, the 12th seed, got past Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 , 3-6, 6-3 and meets Australian Alexei Popyrin, the 25th seed, who beat Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-4, 7-6 , 7-6 .
Arthur Fils, the 14th seed, withdrew ahead of his third-round match on Saturday, extending the host nation’s wait for a first men’s champion at Roland Garros since Yannick Noah in 1983.
Benzema’s double strike gives Al-Ittihad the double
- The Frenchman scored in each half to give the Tigers another trophy to celebrate
- There was an explosion of goalmouth action in the closing stages of the first half
JEDDAH: Karim Benzema scored twice as Al-Ittihad defeated Al-Qadsiah 3-1 on Friday to lift the King Cup and complete the double after winning the Saudi Pro League title earlier in May.
At a delighted King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, the Frenchman scored in each half to give the Tigers another trophy to celebrate with their fans. It marked a 10th King Cup triumph for the club to go along with its 10th league success.
There was an explosion of goalmouth action in the closing stages of the first half. Al-Ittihad had been on top for much of the game but both teams had come close. Fans had to wait until the 34th minute, however, to break the deadlock.
First, Benzema, who scored 21 league goals, did what he does best. Moussa Diaby freed Steven Bergwijn down the right and his cross was chested home by Benzema.
Then, after 43 minutes, Diaby floated a ball over from the right to Benzema at the far post and while the Frenchman’s header was saved, there was Houssem Aouar to finish from close range.
Just when the Tigers were set to head back in at the break in a very good position, Al-Qadsiah were back in the game. Cameron Puertas was bundled over the box and up stepped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to send Predrag Rajkovic the wrong way.
After the restart, the next goal was always going to be crucial and though Al-Qadsiah pushed for an equalizer, it was Benzema who settled the tie and won the cup in added time after Qadsiah’s Ezequiel Hernandez had been sent off for a second bookable offense.
Not for the first time in the game or the season, much of the good work was done by Diaby. The winger broke free on the left to put the ball across the goal for his fellow Frenchman to score from close range to seal the cup and the double with almost the last kick of a hugely successful — and long — season for Al-Ittihad.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed leads Saudi Sports for All delegation at London investment forum
- MESIF 2025 brought together investors, policymakers and sports leaders from across the MENA region to explore opportunities in the rapidly growing sports sector
LONDON: Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed led a high-level Saudi delegation at this week’s Middle East Sports Investment Forum 2025 in London, where he highlighted the Kingdom’s push to promote inclusive, community-based sports as part of its Vision 2030 reform agenda.
The Saudi Sports for All Federation, represented by Prince Khaled in his capacity as president and Managing Director Shaima Saleh Al-Husseini, joined more than 300 delegates at the event held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 27-28.
Organized with the backing of the Saudi Ministry of Investment and in partnership with the Saudi Ministry of Sports, MESIF 2025 brought together investors, policymakers and sports leaders from across the MENA region to explore opportunities in the rapidly growing sports sector.
Prince Khaled praised the forum’s organizers and sponsors for convening a cross-regional dialogue, highlighting the value of engaging both core and adjacent sectors in driving the future of sport across the Gulf and beyond.
Speaking on a panel, Al-Husseini said the SFA remained committed to measuring its social impact using a data-led approach.
“Our metrics are aligned with the World Health Organization’s Global Action Plan and are informed by national surveys, digital platforms and direct community feedback,” she said.
Al-Husseini added that Saudi Arabia had already seen tangible improvements in public participation and gender equity, and that the SFA’s long-term strategy centers on behavioral change, community ownership and evidence-based infrastructure development.
Discussions at MESIF 2025 covered a wide range of topics, including sports finance, innovation and technology, fan engagement, stadium infrastructure and the role of tourism in sports development.
