Al-Ahly basket is on the final table... and the players are making financial concessions

Al-Ahly Club is waiting within the next 48 hours to decide whether or not to return the game of basketball to the club, with Abdullah Al-Sabban, Chairman of the Executive Committee, taking the final decision in this regard.

Private sources revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the basketball team players agreed to reduce more than 50 percent of their salaries, in a move aimed at facilitating the return of the game and the continuation of its activity within the club.

Al-Ahly had previously canceled the basketball game, amid demands to bring it back, at a time when the Saudi Basketball Federation is awaiting the final decision from the club, according to the same sources, before issuing the league competition schedule for next season.

English Ollie Watkins, Al Hilal player, expressed his happiness at scoring goals and helping his team achieve victory.

The English striker led his team, Al Hilal, to restore its winning streak in the AFC Champions League for the Elite, when he scored a brace against the Emirati club, Al Ahly Dubai, to enable Al Hilal to win the match points.

Watkins said in an interview with the media after the victory over Shabab Al-Ahly of the Emirates and achieving Al-Hilal’s third victory in the AFC Elite Champions League: “I am happy to score goals and help the team achieve the victory, which was important for us tonight, especially since we are performing well in the league.”

The English striker added: “I am a striker and my job is to score goals. I wasted some opportunities in previous matches, but today I succeeded in exploiting them, and I aspire to score in every match and contribute to the team’s victories.”

Khalidou Coulibaly, defender of the Saudi Al Hilal team, expressed his satisfaction with the victory achieved by his team over the UAE’s Shabab Al Ahly, in the fourth round of the AFC Elite Champions League.

Coulibaly said, in an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat: “It was a difficult match, and we were looking forward to compensation after our loss in the last match, so achieving victory was very important, and thank God we succeeded in that.”

Regarding his preference to play alongside one central defender or within a defense line that includes three players, Coulibaly stressed that the team’s interest comes first, saying: “The most important thing to me is Al Hilal’s victory.”