The Al-Ahly delegation arrives in South Africa in preparation for the Confederations Cup final, and the ship Costa Serena arrives in Nagoya to host the Asian Games athletes.

The Al-Ahly delegation arrived in South Africa on Wednesday evening, in preparation for facing Mamelodi Sundowns, next Saturday, in the final of the Africa-Asia-Pacific Cup, within the Confederations Cup competitions organized by FIFA.

The Al-Ahly delegation left the city of Jeddah on a private plane, on a direct flight to Johannesburg, which took about 9 hours and 50 minutes, with the participation of the club’s fans’ association, before the delegation continued its way by land to Pretoria, the stronghold of Sun Downs, for a distance of approximately 50 kilometers, via two buses.

The Al-Ahly delegation received special insurance during its move from Johannesburg to Pretoria, while representatives from the Saudi embassy in South Africa were waiting for the delegation to accompany it during its move.

Al-Ahly players will rest today, and the team will begin its preparations for the confrontation on Thursday afternoon, as it is scheduled to content itself with two training sessions in South Africa, during which Dutchman Marino Pusic, the team’s coach, will work on preparing his players and putting the final technical touches on the lineup that will play in the final.

Al-Ahly will train in Pretoria at an altitude of approximately 1,350 meters above sea level, as part of preparation for the climatic and geographical conditions that will accompany the confrontation.

Al-Ahly began its tournament by defeating New Zealand's Auckland FC with a 1-0 goal, on August 26, while Sun Downs enters the confrontation as the CAF Champions League champion.

The Costa Serena ship has arrived at the port of Nagoya, which will be transformed into a “floating village” hosting up to 4,000 athletes and officials from delegations participating in the 20th Asian Games, in an accommodation experience that is the first of its kind within a major sports tournament held in Japan.

The Saudi team, along with a number of participating delegations, participated in the ship’s reception ceremony upon its arrival at the port of Nagoya, amid Japanese welcome performances, which included samurai warriors, ninja performances, and taiko drums.

The ship is about 290 meters long, and athletes and officials began boarding it as of Wednesday, as part of the arrangements for receiving participating delegations.

On the other hand, the Saudi basketball team lost to its Chinese counterpart, one of the most prominent candidates for gold in the Games, in the quarter-finals of the tournament.

Al-Akhdar succeeded in entering the match strongly and advancing during the first quarter, maintaining its rivalry against the Chinese team, before the latter was able to resolve the confrontation in the second half with a score of 87-78, so Al-Akhdar concluded its participation after reaching the quarter-finals.

In football, the Saudi under-21 team continued its training in Japan under the leadership of Italian coach Luigi Di Biagio, in preparation for facing the Qatar national team on Friday evening, as part of the Asian Games competitions, where the training session included fitness aspects, set pieces, and maneuvering across the entire field.