Not since the partial acquisition of Saudi Arabia’s top four clubs by the Public Investment Fund in June has there been as much excitement about the transformation one club in the Saudi Pro League is undergoing as is the case around Al Shabab at the moment.
Fans of the Riyadh-based team, the third most successful in the Saudi Pro League, have been vocal about their frustration at the club being left out of the summer’s influx of new wealth.
Following a poor transfer window and their worst start to an SPL season in recent history, things reached a tipping point with the supporters gathering outside the club in August calling for the resignation of the club president and its board of directors.
Three days later, four members of Al Shabab’s seven-man board handed in their resignations, prompting the Ministry of Sport to call for fresh elections, and, by the end of September, Mohammed Al Manjam had been elected as new club president, promising an era of change.
One challenge facing Al Manjam’s plans for immediate transformation was the fact the transfer window had closed a couple of weeks before his election, meaning that any additions to the squad would have to wait until January.
Beyond that, there were plenty of other areas to work on, and the new board got down to business with the sense of urgency needed to rescue a traditional powerhouse teetering on the brink of relegation.
An abysmal start to the season that saw Al Shabab go into match week 6 without a single win to their name and with just two points collected cost Dutch manager Marcel Keizer his position.
Youth-team coach Juan Brown took over as interim manager, so the first task on the in-tray of Al Manjam’s administration was to find a permanent replacement. Former Liverpool player Igor Biscan was the man selected for the hot seat, the 45-year-old having just won the Croatian League with Dinamo Zagreb.
The frustration of Al Shabab fans has also manifested itself in shrinking attendances. Official figures revealed by the SPL after match week 8 show Al Shabab with the lowest total crowds out of the 18 clubs in the league, and by some margin too.
In four home games, just under 7,000 fans showed up for Al Shabab’s games. By contrast, that number stood at 103,000 fans for their city rivals Al Hilal and 65,000 for Ronaldo’s Al Nassr. The only other team to have registered less than 10,000 fans were provincial side Abha and even they had nearly three thousand more supporters than Al Shabab.
To address this issue, Al Shabab ran a two-week long campaign, galvanising fans to rally around their club in the opening match of the new stadium. Legends of the club such as Saeed Al Owairan and Abdulrahman Al Rumi took part and a much-publicised ‘most expensive ticket in history’ was offered for SAR 1 million ($270,000).
On the eve of the game against Al Tai, it was announced that the VVIP ticket had been purchased by Prince Abdulrahman bin Turki Al Saud, one of the club’s long-term backers.
To mark the new dawn, Al Shabab were to don their new striped black and white kit for the first time, and the campaign proved a huge success, with the Friday fixture drawing 12,000 fans, nearly twice as many fans as the previous four home games combined.
Senegalese forward Habib Diallo, who had joined from French side Strasbourg in the summer, had been the focus of much of the fans ire over the early week, with many considering him an underwhelming acquisition at the time their league rivals had landed the likes of Karim Benzema, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Roberto Firmino and Moussa Dembele.
On Friday, it was Diallo who scored the first goal at the new stadium, finally ending a nine-match goal drought and marking the start of the new era.
A solid 2-0 win over Al Tai meant for only the second time this season, Al Shabab are unbeaten two matches in a row and move into the top half of the table.
It is still a long way from where the side traditionally accustomed to competing for trophies and rarely finishing outside the top five want to be. But if the buzzing atmosphere on Friday is any indication, then the future could be bright for the boys in black and white.
Dr Graham's three goals
Short term
Establish logistics and systems needed to globally deploy vaccines
Intermediate term
Build biomedical workforces in low- and middle-income nations
Long term
A prototype pathogen approach for pandemic preparedness
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Race card
4pm Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
4.35pm Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m
5.10pm Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m
5.45pm Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m
6.20pm Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m
6.55pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m
7.30pm Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m
The National selections:
4pm Zabardast
4.35pm Ibn Malik
5.10pm Space Blues
5.45pm Kimbear
6.20pm Barney Roy
6.55pm Matterhorn
7.30pm Defoe
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80
Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
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'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
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Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
