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Saudi Arabia has ‘ambitious’ plans to land ‘big sporting events’

Updated 08 February 2018
Arab News
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Saudi Arabia has ‘ambitious’ plans to land ‘big sporting events’

Updated 08 February 2018
Arab News

LONDON: The announcement on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia will stage the King Abdulaziz Horse Championship continues the Kingdom’s bold move to boost its entertainment industry by hosting landmark sporting events. Turki Al-Sheikh, president of the Saudi Arabia General Sports Authority, has said “many major sports events” are on the cards and boxing promoter Kalle Sauerland told Arab News that “some of the plans that the Saudis have to bring big sporting events there — they’ve acquired other interesting events — are very ambitious.”

Arab News takes a closer look at the three being staged in 2018.

SAUDI PSA WOMEN'S SQUASH MASTERS
 

The world’s leading female players descended on Riyadh last month for the first World Series event of 2018 and the first ever professional women’s sports event to be held in Saudi Arabia. The tournament, held at Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University, featured 32 international players, including world champion Raneem El-Welily, world No. 1 Nour El-Sherbini and eight-time world champion Nicol David. El-Sherbini won the $165,000 event, triumphing over compatriot El-Welily.
“Bringing professional squash back to Saudi Arabia for the first time since 2010 has been an ambition of mine and I am grateful for the support of the Women’s Department of the Saudi General Authority for Sport to see this come to fruition,” said PSA Chairman and Saudi businessman Ziad Al-Turki.
“Not only is squash one of the healthiest sports it is the perfect sport for the Saudi climate. I’m hoping that this tournament will increase local participation in Saudi Arabia, and I look forward to working with all parties involved throughout the next six months insuring continued success for years to come.”

RACE OF CHAMPIONS

The two-day event last week featured drivers from Formula One, Rallycross, IndyCar and other racing competitions and was the first ever motorsport to take place in the Kingdom. It was held at the 75,000-capacity King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh and was a family event “open to both genders”, according to the organizer’s website. David Coulthard, the 13-time Grand Prix winner, won the event, beating double World Rallycross Champion Petter Solberg in the final around the complex, rallycross-style circuit.
“As motorsport’s most forward-thinking property, ROC is an event perfectly suited to Saudi Arabia, which is emerging as a modern sports market on the global stage,” said Fredrik Johnsson, Race Of Champions president. “With women able to drive in Saudi Arabia from 2018, we feel this is an auspicious moment to be bringing a motorsport event to Riyadh.

WORLD BOXING SUPER SERIES CRUISERWEIGHT FINAL

Jeddah is set to host what is being billed as the fight of the year on May 11 when Oleksandr Usyk and Murat Gassiev slug it out. The winner of the final will unify the division, winning the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO and the RING Magazine cruiserweight championship belt, and emerge as the undefeated and undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world. Also at stake is the Muhammad Ali Trophy and $10 million for the winner.
“This agreement is part of our broader commitment and work to develop the sport of boxing in Saudi Arabia,” said Al-Sheikh. “Having the first final of such a high profile and groundbreaking tournament take place in Saudi Arabia is a key milestone for us, and will be one of many major sports events to take place in the Kingdom next year.”

Topics: King Abdulaziz Horse Championship Race of Champions Riyadh Jeddah World Boxing Super Series squash

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Villarreal stay on Atletico’s tail, Valencia snatch vital victory

Updated 09 March 2026
AFP
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Villarreal stay on Atletico’s tail, Valencia snatch vital victory

  • Elche started the season superbly but are yet to win in 2026, or away from home across the campaign, and have slumped to 17th, one point above the drop zone
Updated 09 March 2026
AFP

BARCELONA: Villarreal beat Elche 2-1 on Sunday to keep pace with Atletico Madrid in the battle for third in La Liga.
After Atletico beat Real Sociedad on Saturday, Marcelino Garcia Toral’s Yellow Submarine, fourth, pulled level on 54 points.
A little further down Spain’s east coast, Valencia came from behind to beat Alaves 3-2 in a match which could prove crucial in their bid to avoid relegation.
Tajon Buchanan and Santiago Mourino’s first-half goals were reward for a dominant performance by Villarreal, although Elche’s Andre Silva pulled one back late on to make the hosts sweat.
“We relaxed a bit. Until the 70th minute we were dominating the game, then we suffered until the end and that can’t happen,” Mourino told Movistar.
Villarreal had a host of chances in the first half but Elche goalkeeper Matias Dituro made several good saves to keep Nicolas Pepe and Georges Mikautadze at bay.
Elche started the season superbly but are yet to win in 2026, or away from home across the campaign, and have slumped to 17th, one point above the drop zone.
“I think with a bit more time we could have got level. We finished in the way we should have played the whole game,” said Silva.
“After letting in the first goal, the team dropped in morale and we can’t do that.”
Real Betis, fifth, fell further behind in the race for Champions League football with a 2-0 defeat at Getafe.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side now trail Villarreal by 11 points with 11 matches remaining.
Kiko Femenia and Martin Satriano netted for Getafe in a good week for Jose Bordalas’s side, who beat Real Madrid on Monday at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The match was paused for a few minutes in the opening stages because of a fight involving several visiting fans sitting in a home area. La Liga said they would investigate the incident.

Valencia edge thriller

Carlos Corberan’s Valencia snatched three late points at home against Alaves, with Hugo Duro netting a penalty in the 99th minute to secure the win.
Valencia climbed to 12th while Alaves are 16th, just two points clear of the relegation zone.
Alaves, on new coach Quique Sanchez Flores’s debut at the helm, took the lead from the penalty spot in the second minute through Lucas Boye after Guido Rodriguez fouled Toni Martinez.
There were chances at both ends in a scrappy but entertaining battle, as Valencia pulled level right at the start of the second half.
Javi Guerra calmly fired home after Umar Sadiq teed him up in the box to cheer up Valencia’s Mestalla stadium.
Argentine striker Boye nodded Alaves back in front with less than 20 minutes remaining from Denis Suarez’s corner.
However, Eray Comert struck for Valencia before Duro won and scored his penalty to claim victory for the hosts.
Alaves finished the game with nine men after Jon Pacheco and Ander Guevara were dismissed in the aftermath of the penalty decision, the former for fouling Duro and the latter for his complaints.
“The team kept going and fought to the end... what counts is that we gave everything,” Duro told Movistar.
Sevilla and Rayo Vallecano shared a 1-1 draw which left both sides content not to lose and avoid sinking from lower mid-table further toward the bottom three.
On Saturday, La Liga leaders Barcelona restored their four-point gap to Real Madrid at the top of the table with a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s Madrid snatched a last gasp 2-1 win at Celta Vigo on Friday, ahead of Wednesday’s challenging Champions League match against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

Topics: La Liga villarreal Elche

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