The Saudi national team's matches with South Korea are characterized by great balance and close results across 18 previous matches, during which Al-Akhdar succeeded in achieving victory in 4 matches, while losing in 5 matches, and 9 matches between the two teams were tied.
On the other hand, Al-Akhdar has a historical advantage over his Uzbek counterpart through 12 previous confrontations between them. The Saudi team decided to prevail by winning 7 matches, compared to 4 victories for Uzbekistan, and one match ended in a draw.
The next two matches within the Green Preparatory Camp in Doha will gain a special statistical dimension, as the Saudi national team will raise the tally of its historical matches on Qatari soil to 60 matches by the end of the camp, after having previously played 58 matches in Qatar, during which it was able to achieve victory in 26 matches, and settle 10 matches in draws, while losing in 22 matches.
These two experiences come within the preparatory camp scheduled to be held in Doha during the period from the eighth to the seventeenth of this month of November, within the framework of the approved international pause period in preparation for the upcoming benefits. Al-Akhdar will play his first match against the South Korean national team on the thirteenth of November, before meeting his Uzbek counterpart on the seventeenth of the same month. Both matches will be held on the grounds of Khalifa Bin Hamad Stadium, the stadium of the Qatari Al-Sadd Club.
Asharq Al-Awsat sources learned that the residence of the Saudi national team delegation will be at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in the capital, Doha, with training and preparatory exercises being limited to the serving courts during the camp period.
The technical director of the Saudi national team, the Greek Georgios Donis, had announced the call-up list scheduled to attend the camp tomorrow evening, Sunday, which included 30 players: “Mohamed Al-Owais, Hamed Youssef, Abdel Quddus Attia, Abdel-Ilah Al-Omari, Hassan Al-Tambakti, Ali Lagami, Sultan Tankar, Abdullah Al-Khatib, Nawaf Bushel, Mohamed Mahzari, Saud Abdel Hamid, And Muhammad Abu Al-Shamat, Mutaib Al-Harbi, Fares Abdi, Musab Al-Jawir, Mukhtar Ali, Muhammad Kanno, Ziad Al-Juhani, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Nasser Al-Dosari, Abdul-Malik Al-Ayiri, Sultan Mandash, Muhammad Al-Qahtani, Marwan Al-Sahafi, Muhammad Al-Kuwaikbi, Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, Turki Al-Ammar, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Firas Al-Braikan, and Abdullah Al Salem.
The activities of the Special Olympics Saudi Games, organized by the Saudi Special Olympics Federation, in cooperation with the Saudi Sports for All Federation, concluded on Saturday at the Sports for All Dome in Dammam, with the participation of 93 male and female players representing 7 clubs from various regions of the Kingdom.
Competitions were held in 4 sports, including five-a-side football, three-way basketball, handball skills, and bocce, according to the regulations and divisions approved in the Special Olympics.
The men's five-a-side football competition resulted in Efaa Club achieving first place, Al-Ahsa Club coming in second place, Al-Rass Club coming in third place, and Ifada Club coming in fourth place.
In the women's competition, Efaa Club achieved first place.
In men's triple basketball, the Jeddah Club came in first place, the Medina Club came in second place, the Efaa Club came in third place, while Al-Ahsa Club came in fourth place, and the Efada Club came in fifth place.
In the women's competitions, the Efaa Club achieved first place, and Al-Ahsa Club came in second place.
In the men's handball skills competition, Al-Ahsa Club achieved first place, Efaa Club came in second place, Al-Rass Club came in third place, while Ifada Club came in fourth place.
Talal Al-Humaidan, Director of Communications and Partnerships at the Saudi Special Olympics Federation, praised the cooperation with the Saudi Sports for All Federation in holding the games, stressing that the success of the regional games experience last year, and the expansion this year to hosting the games at the national level, reflects the value of the partnership and its impact on developing sports competitions and enhancing the participation of Special Olympics clubs from various regions of the Kingdom.
Al-Humaidan expressed his aspiration to continue the partnership and hold more editions of the games in the coming years, noting that cooperation between the two federations serves a common national goal of raising the percentage of people practicing sports in the Kingdom, and expanding sports participation opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The activities accompanying the Games included the implementation of 164 medical examinations within the Healthy Players Programme, led by two certified health managers from Special Olympics International, Dr. Jinan Mahfouz in the specialty of oral and dental health, and specialist Ali Al-Omrani in the specialty of physical therapy, with the aim of enhancing the health of the players and early detection of health challenges.
The games also witnessed the establishment of a parents’ forum, which addressed the definition of the program, its objectives, and its role in enhancing communication with the families of male and female players.
These games come within the efforts of the Saudi Special Olympics Federation to implement its 2024-2028 strategy, which aims to build a comprehensive, healthy society through sports, by expanding the base of practitioners of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and enhancing their opportunities for participation in sports activities and competitions, in a way that supports the development of a comprehensive and sustainable sports system in the Kingdom.
