Majed Al-Fahmy, the official spokesman for Al-Ahly Club, confirmed that the club’s management is looking at the next stage with a different mentality, based on moving beyond the past and focusing on building a more stable future, stressing the club’s need for support during the coming stages.
Regarding the commercial aspect and partnership contracts, Al-Fahmi explained in his speech to Asharq Al-Awsat that the marketing department is working to expand the circle of partnerships and multiply them, stressing that Al-Ahly Club represents an attractive destination for companies and brands, due to its wide audience and great interaction with its partners.
Al-Fahmi pointed out that the club is currently linked to about 15 partnership contracts, in addition to working on launching an online store, considering that the commercial activity witnessed by the club represents an important step in developing the commercial sector and enhancing its resources.
He also praised the ongoing work on the season tickets file, stressing that the public demand and admiration for their offer and prices reflect the great effort made by the club’s commercial sector.
Regarding the period during which coach Matias led Al-Ahly, as well as talking about sports director Rui Pedro, the official spokesman confirmed that Matias made an important history with the club and achieved great successes, but the current stage requires focusing on the future and not being preoccupied with the past.
He spoke about coach Mario Pusic, who began his job with the team about ten days ago, wishing him success in the next stage, and stressing the importance of the players and fans coming together to support the new technical staff.
Regarding the public criticism and censure towards the work of Professor Majid Al-Fahmi, and the pressure and criticism that accompanies that, the official spokesman reduced the description of the situation as tension, considering that what is happening is criticism and censure stemming from the fans’ love for their club.
He said that when Al-Ahly fans get angry, their anger is for the sake of the team and the club, stressing that the fans cannot be blamed for that, especially in light of the difficult period that the club went through.
He concluded his speech by emphasizing that Al-Ahly went through a stage full of tests and difficult circumstances, but it proved its ability to be patient and overcome crises, while looking forward to a new stage in which public support and administrative and commercial work would be essential factors in restoring stability and achieving ambitions.
Al-Nasr is looking forward to continuing its perfect start in the Saudi Professional League, when it meets Riyadh in the second round of the tournament.
In a strong and exciting test, Al-Qadisiyah faces its counterpart Al-Ittihad in the first summit of this season, while Al-Hazm receives its rival, Al-Diriyah, and Al-Faisaly and NEOM renew their confrontation a few days after their meeting in the King’s Cup.
Attention is turning to the capital, where Riyadh will host its counterpart Al-Nassr in a confrontation during which the hosts are looking to regain their balance after losing to Al-Ittifaq 4-2 in the opening round, while the yellow team enters the match with high morale and a desire to continue its strong start.
Al-Nasr had opened its season with a wide victory over Al-Fateh by three clean goals, presenting itself in a strong manner since the first round, despite the absence of its Portuguese star, Cristiano Ronaldo, before facing Al-Diriyah in the round of 32 of the King’s Cup and succeeding in passing to the next round with a score of 4-1.
Riyadh is aware of the difficulty of its task against a competitor who has multiple attacking options, while Al-Nasr is looking for the full mark and to continue its presence among the leading teams since the first rounds.
The capital's yellow presented itself in a very exemplary manner in terms of offensive performance, despite talk about the changes that the team might appear as a result of the departure of Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus, but his predecessor, the Australian Postecoglou, succeeded in leading the team to a sharp attacking approach that appeared in the first matches.
In one of the most prominent matches of the round, Al-Qadisiyah hosts its counterpart Al-Ittihad in a strong test for the Al-Jeddawi team, which seeks to present a better image after being content with a draw against Al-Khuloud at the beginning of its league career.
Al-Ittihad aspires to return with a positive result and avoid losing more points at an early stage, especially in light of its ambitions to compete for advanced positions, while Al-Qadisiyah looks forward to investing the ground staff and the public and confirming its ability to compete with one of the most prominent teams in the competition.
Al-Qadisiyah is showing different abilities this season, after its victory against Al-Shabab in the first round in four, as it returned to crush Al-Taei by five in the round of 32 of the King’s Cup and progresses to the round of 16 of the tournament, with a wonderful offensive performance and a very perfect coordination for the entire team.
As for Al-Ittihad, which also recorded its victory in the cup tournament that followed the round against Al-Najma, one of the first division teams, it will face a difficult technical test with the start of the season.
In another confrontation, Al-Diriyah will host Al-Hazm, in a meeting during which the two teams search for a result that will give them an early boost in the league race.
Al-Diriyah presented itself in a remarkable manner in its historical first appearance in the Saudi Professional League, despite its loss to Al-Ahly with an unanswered goal. The team has shown great ability to keep up with its competitors, and aspires to translate its level into points when it faces Al-Hazm.
The confrontation between Al-Faisaly and NEOM has a different character. The meeting between them will be renewed only a few days after their confrontation in the 32nd round of the King’s Cup. Which makes the cards of the two teams more exposed to the two technical staff.
Al-Faisaly seeks to confirm its ability to compete with its competitors after its remarkable appearance against Al-Hilal in the first round, despite its 4-2 loss, as “Annabi Sudair” played a good match and was close to returning the result during more than one stage.
On the other hand, NEOM started its league campaign in an ideal way after beating Al-Fayhaa 2-1, before continuing its journey with a valuable victory against Al-Faisaly and qualifying for the round of sixteen of the King’s Cup, as it looks forward to continuing to collect points and confirm its strong start.
