RIYADH: Professional NBA star LeBron James announced on Thursday that his team, Team AlUla, are set to join the fleet for the 2025 E1 season that begins with the E1 Jeddah GP on Saturday.
James’ team have been named after the ancient city in Saudi Arabia, and will be piloted by Rusty Wyatt and Catie Munnings.
The LA Lakers star, 40, said: “As a lifelong fan of sports and competition, the opportunity to own an E1 team that represents such a high level of innovation in sports is incredibly exciting.
“E1 is a new type of global competition that’s revolutionizing water racing and I’m proud to be at the forefront of its expansion in season two.”
The UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF sees teams go head-to-head in high-energy racing in iconic global cities, including Doha, Monaco, and Miami, in a bid to be crowned champions of the water.
Wyatt, a Canadian powerboat star, is one of the sport’s promising talents after being recognized as Rookie of the Year at the prestigious F1H20 UIM World Championship in 2024.
Alongside Wyatt is Munnings, the UK’s first-ever female Red Bull motorsports athlete and a previous FIA European Rally Championship Ladies’ Trophy winner. The British racer joins from Team Brazil after securing an impressive three podium places in E1’s debut season.
James joins a roster of team owners in the championship that includes NFL Hall of Famer Tom Brady, tennis legend Rafael Nadal, Hollywood actor Will Smith, international DJ Steve Aoki, footballing superstar Didier Drogba, philanthropist and businessman Marcelo Claure, cricketer Virat Kohli, and Grammy Award-winning musician Marc Anthony.
Team AlUla are led by co-team principals John Marlow and Barny Whitwham, who have a combined 30 years’ experience working in commercial and technical roles across blue chip organizations, FIA Formula One and World Rally Championship motorsport teams.
They are joined by a crew with equally strong sporting, technical and partnerships prowess across global motorsport and sports categories.
Alejandro Agag, chairman and co-founder of E1, said: “We are thrilled to welcome James and Team AlUla to the UIM E1 World Championship.
“With LeBron’s championship pedigree and history of excellence in globally celebrated sports, his entry into E1 sets the stage for an incredibly competitive and high-energy season on the water.”
With new teams, innovative technology, and iconic race destinations, Agag says the 2025 season will represent an exciting evolution for E1.
Rodi Basso, CEO and co-founder of E1, said: “As E1 prepares for a second season that will deliver new teams, more iconic race locations, and more thrilling on-water action, it’s with immense pride and excitement that I welcome Team AlUla and LeBron to the Championship.”
LeBron James announces new team for UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF
https://arab.news/8x77m
LeBron James announces new team for UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF
- Team AlUla named after the ancient city in Saudi Arabia
- ‘E1 is a new type of global competition that’s revolutionizing water racing and I’m proud to be at the forefront of its expansion,’ says professional NBA star
Morocco banish any doubts about ability to host World Cup 2030
- Impressive stadiums, easy transportation links and a well-established tourism infrastructure ensured the 24-team tournament went off without any major hitch and will assuage any doubters about the World Cup in four years’ time
RABAT: Morocco’s successful staging of the Africa Cup of Nations means there should be no skepticism about its ability to co-host the World Cup with Portugal and Spain in 2030, even if Sunday’s final was clouded by a walk-off and defeat for the home team.
Impressive stadiums, easy transportation links and a well-established tourism infrastructure ensured the
24-team tournament went off without any major hitch and will assuage any doubters about the World Cup in four years’ time.
Morocco plans to use six venues in 2030 and five of them were used for the Cup of Nations, providing world-class playing surfaces and a spectacular backdrop.
The Grande Stade in Tangier with a 75,000 capacity is an impressive facility in the northern coastal city, less than an hour’s ferry ride from Spain.
Meanwhile, FIFA President Gianni Infantino condemned "some Senegal players" for the "unacceptable scenes" which overshadowed their victory in the final when they left the pitch in protest at a penalty awarded to Morocco.
African football's showpiece event was marred by most of the Senegal team walking off when, deep into injury time of normal play and with the match locked at 0-0, Morocco were awarded a spot-kick following a VAR check by referee Jean-Jacques Ndala for a challenge on Brahim Diaz.
security personnel at the other end of the stadium, Senegal's players eventually returned to the pitch to see Diaz shoot a soft penalty into the arms of their goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
The match was played at the Stade Moulay Abdellah in the capital Rabat, which has a capacity of 69,500. The attendance for the final was 66,526.
Stadiums in Agadir, Fes and Marrakech were also more than adequate and will now be renovated over the next few years.
But the crowning glory is the proposed 115,000-capacity Stade Hassan II on the outskirts of Casablanca which Morocco hope will be chosen to host the final over Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
In all, Morocco will spend $1.4 billion on the six stadiums. Also planned is extensive investment in airports, with some 10 Moroccan cities already running direct air links to Europe and many budget airlines offering flights to the country.
An extension of Africa’s only high-speed rail service, which already provides a comfortable three-hour ride from Tangier to Casablanca, further south to Agadir and Marrakech is also planned. Morocco hopes all of this will modernize its cities and boost the economy.
On the field, Morocco will hope to launch a credible challenge for a first African World Cup success, although on Sunday they continued their poor return in the Cup of Nations, where their only triumph came 50 years ago.
They surprised with a thrilling run to the last four at the Qatar 2022 World Cup as the first African nation to get that far and will hope for a similar impact at this year’s finals in North America. They are in Group C with Brazil, Scotland and Haiti.
