Three sportswomen given Saudi citizenship as part of royal order

The athletes given Saudi citizenship included three women: French tennis player Maysan Hussein (L), Muay Thai fighter Tasneem Al-Qassab (C) and American footballer Maryam Al-Tamimi (R). (Social Media)
Short Url
Updated 07 July 2024
Follow

Three sportswomen given Saudi citizenship as part of royal order

  • The decree aims to grant Saudi citizenship to people whose distinguished expertise serves the nation in various fields

RIYADH: A number of athletes have recently been granted Saudi citizenship after a royal order issued on Thursday.

The decree aims to grant Saudi citizenship to people whose distinguished expertise serves the nation in various fields, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

It is also in line with Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to create an environment that attracts, invests in, and retains exceptional creative minds, SPA added.

The athletes given Saudi citizenship included three women: American footballer Maryam Al-Tamimi, French tennis player Maysan Hussein, and Muay Thai fighter Tasneem Al-Qassab.

Al-Tamimi was picked by head coach Monica Staab for the women’s national team. She is registered with the Saudi Football Federation and was influential in securing her former side — the Sharqiya Flames — first place in the Eastern Province League in 2021. She has since signed for Al-Ittihad in a deal that runs until 2025.

French teenage tennis player Hussein, who is 15 years old, was also given citizenship. She has won several girls’ championships in Saudi Arabia.

She finished 41st in the Asian Tennis Federation’s U14 competition and won the Mahdia Open Tennis Championship in Tunisia in the U16 category.

She was also runner-up in the women’s singles at the 2023 Saudi Games.

Syrian Muay Thai fighter Al-Qassab, also a teenager, was among those granted citizenship. She won the 2021 Saudi Women’s Championship, held in Riyadh, and came third in the Virtual World Championship, held in the same year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, during which she represented Saudi Arabia.


Benzema’s double strike gives Ittihad the double

Updated 6 sec ago
Follow

Benzema’s double strike gives 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 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 equaliser, 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 offence.

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 Ittihad.


Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed leads Saudi Sports for All delegation at London investment forum

Updated 30 May 2025
Follow

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.


Olympic boxing champ Imane Khelif must undergo genetic sex screening to fight for new governing body

Updated 30 May 2025
Follow

Olympic boxing champ Imane Khelif must undergo genetic sex screening to fight for new governing body

  • World Boxing announced mandatory sex testing for all athletes Friday
  • The governing body specifically mentioned Khelif when announcing the policy

DUBAI: Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif must undergo genetic sex screening to participate in upcoming events with the sport’s new governing body.

World Boxing announced mandatory sex testing for all athletes Friday. The governing body specifically mentioned Khelif when announcing the policy, saying the Algerian gold medal winner must be screened before she will be approved to fight at any upcoming events, including the Eindhoven Box Cup next month in the Netherlands.

“The introduction of mandatory testing will be part of a new policy on ‘Sex, Age and Weight’ to ensure the safety of all participants and deliver a competitive level playing field for men and women,” World Boxing wrote in a statement. The fighters’ national federations will be responsible for administering the tests and providing the results to World Boxing.

Khelif won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics last summer amid international scrutiny on her and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, another gold medal winner. The previous governing body for Olympic boxing, the Russian-dominated International Boxing Association, disqualified both fighters from its 2023 world championships after claiming they had failed an unspecified eligibility test.

The IOC ran the past two Olympic boxing tournaments after the banishment of the IBA for decades of misdeeds and controversy, and it applied the sex eligibility rules used in previous Olympics. Khelif and Lin were eligible to compete under those standards.

Khelif intends to return to international competition next month in Eindhoven as part of her plan to defend her gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics, but some boxers and their federations had already spoken out to protest her inclusion.

Chromosome testing was common in Olympic sports during the 20th century, but was largely abandoned in the 1990s because of numerous ambiguities that couldn’t be easily resolved by the tests, collectively known as differences in sex development (DSD). Many sports switched to hormone testing to determine sex eligibility, but those tests require governing bodies to make difficult decisions on the eligibility of women with naturally high testosterone levels.

Three months ago, World Athletics — the governing body for track and field — became the first Olympic sport to reintroduce chromosome testing, requiring athletes who compete in the women’s events to submit to the test once in their careers.

World Boxing has been provisionally approved to replace the IBA as the governing body at the Los Angeles Games, but it has faced significant pressure from boxers and their federations to create sex eligibility standards.

World Boxing announced that all athletes over 18 years old in its competitions must undergo a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) genetic test to determine their sex at birth. The PCR test detects chromosomal material through a mouth swab, saliva or blood.

If an athlete intending to compete in the women’s categories is determined to have male chromosomal material, “initial screenings will be referred to independent clinical specialists for genetic screening, hormonal profiles, anatomical examination or other valuation of endocrine profiles by medical specialists,” World Boxing wrote. The policy also includes an appeals process.

The boxing body’s decision is the latest development in a tumultuous period in Olympic sex eligibility policy. The issue of transgender participation in sports has become an international flashpoint, with President Donald Trump and other conservative world leaders repeatedly weighing in.

Earlier this year, World Athletics also proposed recommendations that would apply strict transgender rules to athletes who were born female but had what the organization describes as naturally occurring testosterone levels in the typical male range. In 2023, World Athletics banned transgender athletes who had transitioned male to female and gone through male puberty.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said he felt confident that the body’s new rules would withstand legal challenges.

The 26-year-old Khelif had competed in women’s boxing events under the IBA’s auspices without controversy until the 2023 world championships. She had never won a major international competition before her dominant performance in the women’s welterweight division in Paris.


Concentration not obsession needed in Champions League final, says Inter coach Inzaghi

Updated 30 May 2025
Follow

Concentration not obsession needed in Champions League final, says Inter coach Inzaghi

  • “I have seen determination and not the obsession that shouldn’t be there,” Inzaghi told reporters
  • “Instead, there should be the right concentration and determination”

MUNICH: Inter Milan are determined to avenge their 2023 Champions League final loss, though manager Simone Inzaghi warned on Friday against letting determination become obsession against Paris St. Germain in this year’s final.

While Inter’s domestic campaign ended trophyless, in Europe, Inzaghi and his players are desperate to banish the ghosts of Istanbul and their defeat to Manchester City, but they will not let their resolve turn into fixation ahead of Saturday’s showdown in Munich.

“I have seen determination and not the obsession that shouldn’t be there,” Inzaghi told reporters.

“Instead, there should be the right concentration and determination, and this is what the guys have shown me in these days.

“I asked during the week for concentration and determination, but not obsession, we must be free, free of mind in preparing in the best possible way.”

Inzaghi believes his squad is experienced and successful enough to be able to put those plans in place on Saturday, and put behind them the disappointment of losing their Serie A title to Napoli.

“The psychological side is important, we worked in the best way, leaving aside the disappointment,” Inzaghi said.

“We know how certain matches are prepared, we have world champions, we have European champions.

“We have also gained experience on how to reach the Champions League final, which is a very important match, just like a World Cup final, a European Championship final.”

Inzaghi will go into the biggest game of the season with his whole squad available, confirming that defender Benjamin Pavard is fit having missed the semifinal win over Barcelona and the final four league games.

“The guys are all available and this year, out of 59 matches, in just three games we have had all 23 available,” Inzaghi said.

“It gives a coach great confidence. Having everyone available is better than anyone could ask for, because you know you can count on all the players, players that I am proud to coach.”

Inzaghi was asked what his team needs more than anything else in order to defeat Luis Enrique’s PSG, a side which has won every trophy they have competed for so far this season.

“Aggressiveness, clarity, there could be many more because to play a match like this, to win, to win such an important match, it will take everything,” Inzaghi said.

“It will take everything, along with all the details that we are trying to take care of in the best possible way, knowing that in front of us we have a great team that has deserved the final, like Inter, which has incredible strength and a great coach.”


Liverpool sign Frimpong from Leverkusen

Updated 30 May 2025
Follow

Liverpool sign Frimpong from Leverkusen

  • Frimpong, who will officially join on June 1, signed a five-year contract

LONDON: Premier League champions Liverpool have signed defender Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen on a long-term contract, both clubs announced on Friday.

Financial details were not disclosed by either club, but British media reported that Liverpool triggered a 35 million euros ($39.73 million) release clause for the 24-year-old Dutch international, whose deal with Leverkusen was valid until 2028.


Frimpong, who will officially join on June 1, signed a five-year contract, media reports said.

The right back, who can also play as a winger, played a key role in the Leverkusen side that won the German domestic double in 2023-24, chipping in with 14 goals and 12 assists across all competitions.