JEDDAH: Deem Saud scored the decisive goal as Al-Shabab defeated Al-Hilal 1-0 in the final of the inaugural Saudi Arabian Football Federation Women’s U-17 tournament.
The road to the final, which was played on Wednesday at Noon Academy in Jeddah, began in November with the group stages of the tournament, in which 18 teams from the Women’s Premier League, the First Division and SAFF regional training centers were split into four groups.
Al-Shabab were unbeaten in Group 1, topping the table with 28 points from nine wins and a draw, scoring 116 goals along the way and conceding just two.
In the knockout phase, they defeated Jeddah 2-1 in the quarter-finals, and Eastern Flames 2-0 in the semis.
Adwa Al-Arifi, the assistant minister for sport affairs at the Ministry of Sport, Lamia Bahian, the vice president of SAFF, and Aalia Al-Rasheed, the head of the women’s football department at SAFF, watched the final.
Officials said the competition offered a showcase for the talent and potential of young female players in the Kingdom, illustrating the rapid recent development of women’s football across the country. The players and clubs were praised for their skill, team spirit and passion for the sport.
SAFF congratulated Al-Shabab for their success, commended all of the clubs that took part, and thanked the players, coaches and fans for their enthusiastic support, which they said had helped make the championship a great success.
Al-Shabab crowned inaugural Saudi Women’s U-17 football champs after defeating Al-Hilal in final
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Al-Shabab crowned inaugural Saudi Women’s U-17 football champs after defeating Al-Hilal in final
- Their success in the knockout phase follows a group stage in which they were unbeaten, racking up 9 wins and a draw while scoring 116 goals and conceding just 2
- Event serves as showcase for talent and potential of young female players and the rapid development of women’s football in the Kingdom, officials say
Rooney says Salah ‘destroying his Liverpool legacy’
- The Egypt forward said on Saturday he felt like he had been ‘thrown under the bus’ by Liverpool
- He was left on the bench for the third consecutive game in a 3-3 draw at Leeds and not even introduced as a substitute
LONDON: Mohamed Salah is “absolutely destroying his Liverpool legacy” following an extraordinary outburst at manager Arne Slot, according to Wayne Rooney.
The Egypt forward said on Saturday he felt like he had been “thrown under the bus” by Liverpool and that he no longer had a relationship with Slot after he was left on the bench for the third consecutive game in a 3-3 draw at Leeds and not even introduced as a substitute.
After next weekend’s home match against Brighton, Salah is set to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations and hinted that could be his final appearance in a Liverpool shirt should he be selected.
Former Manchester United and England striker Rooney believes Slot must now demonstrate he is in charge at Anfield by leaving Salah out completely from Tuesday’s Champions League tie at Inter Milan.
“Arne Slot has to show his authority and pull him in and say ‘you are not traveling with the team, what you said is not acceptable’,” said Rooney in his latest BBC podcast.
“Take yourself off to AFCON (the Africa Cup of Nations) and let everything calm down. If I was him there would be no way he would be in the team.”
Rooney added: “He (Salah) is absolutely destroying his legacy at Liverpool. It would be sad for him to throw it all away. He’s gone about it all wrong.”
Salah is Liverpool’s third highest goalscorer of all time with 250 goals in 420 appearances for the club.
However, the 33-year-old has been a shadow of his former self during Liverpool’s struggles this season — the club are now ninth in the table — with a mere four goals in 13 Premier League appearances.
After the Leeds game, Salah told reporters: “I said many times before that I had a good relationship with the manager, and all of a sudden we don’t have any relationship.
“It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That is how I am feeling. I think it is very clear that someone wanted me to get all of the blame.”
