Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring against Al Hilal at the Kingdom Arena. Reuters
Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring against Al Hilal at the Kingdom Arena. Reuters
Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring against Al Hilal at the Kingdom Arena. Reuters
Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring against Al Hilal at the Kingdom Arena. Reuters

'Time to go global' - Saudi Arabian football poised to make a mark on the world stage


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Al Nassr sporting director and former Real Madrid captain Fernando Hierro believes Saudi Arabia’s football evolution is not only here to stay but ready to lead a new era for the global game.

Speaking at the Sports Investment Forum in Riyadh – as part of a panel titled Developing the Market Value of Sports Club – alongside Al Hilal CEO Esteve Calzada, Hierro said the Saudi Pro League is not only attracting global stars, but commanding worldwide attention, helping to transform the SPL from a buyer’s league into an exporter of talent to rival the world’s best.

“This league is calling the world,” Hierro said. “It’s not just Saudi clubs going abroad to find players, now European scouts are coming here, looking for Saudi talent. That tells you something.”

Hierro, who was one of the first major international players to join Qatar’s league more than 20 years ago, said the evolution taking place in Saudi has been extraordinary.

“This project is just two years old. And yet look at the infrastructure, the global reach, the talent,” he said. “There’s already so much work behind it. It’s only just beginning.”

The former defender, who spent 14 years at Real Madrid and made 89 appearances for Spain, highlighted Al Nassr’s new approach to recruitment as proof of their change in strategy.

The club, which helped kick-start the Saudi football transformation by signing Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in December 2022, have focused more on signing younger talents this season, with an average age of 23.6 years.

The strategy reflects a wider change in the SPL, where this season the average age of players signed was 24.9, down from 25.4 in 2023/24.

“We’ve signed five players under 25, including Brazilian international Bento, teenagers Angelo and Wesley, and Jhon Duran who is only 21,” Hierro said. “We’re not just buying, we’re creating value. Saudi clubs can become exporters, too.”

From local power to global brand

Calzada, CEO of Al Hilal and former chief commercial officer of City Football Group, echoed Hierro’s sentiment, saying the SPL is perfectly placed to grow into a global football powerhouse.

“Al Hilal have been very successful domestically, but now it’s time to go global,” Calzada said. “If we want international fans and sponsors, we need to ensure maximum distribution of our product.”

Broadcasting is the key area of growth, Calzada explained, with SPL matches now available in 200 countries. “We’ve already monetised the key assets – shirt deals, LED boards – so now we must evolve. The focus is digital and social, reaching younger fans where they are.”

Calzada said clubs like Al Hilal are already reaping the benefits of football’s global pull. The club made international headlines with the league record signing of Neymar last summer, and while the Brazilian has moved on after an injury-disrupted 18 months, the Riyadh giants remain Saudi Arabia’s most recognisable club, both locally and abroad.

“This is the most popular sport in the kingdom, and Al Hilal is the most popular team,” he added. “If you want to reach the Saudi consumer, there is no better channel [than football].”

Club World Cup and the road to 2034

With Saudi Arabia set to host the 2034 Fifa World Cup and Al Hilal confirmed as the kingdom’s sole representative at the expanded 32-team Fifa Club World Cup in the United States this summer, the spotlight on Saudi football is only intensifying.

Al Hilal will open their tournament against Real Madrid in Miami before matches against Mexican side Pachuca and perennial Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg.

The tournament is therefore a prime opportunity for Hilal to showcase both the quality of Saudi football and boost their own profile.

“The Club World Cup is an extraordinary opportunity for Al Hilal to showcase our brand on the global stage,” said Calzada.

“It’s the first edition in this new format, and we’ll be competing against some of the best clubs in the world in front of massive global audiences. It’s a moment of pride for the club and for the league.”

Calzada emphasised the importance of performing well in the tournament to reinforce the SPL’s international ambitions. “It’s not just about being there, it’s about showing that Saudi clubs can compete at the highest level. We want to prove we belong.”

Facilities were also a recurring theme in the panel. “For me, the development of youth players starts with three things,” said Hierro. “Good facilities, quality coaching, and strong competition. But above all, facilities matter.”

With 48 teams arriving in the kingdom for the 2034 World Cup, he insisted – and expects – that the training infrastructure must be world-class. “Each nation will need their own base. We must show the world that we’re ready, not just to host, but to lead.”

Calzada agreed, pointing to the Kingdom Arena, Al Hilal’s current temporary home, as an example of how infrastructure supports growth. “It’s the biggest indoor grass football stadium in the world. We don’t own it, but tactically, it’s ours and it’s helping us build a fan base and create a world-class experience.”

Held under the banner of “Investing in the Future of Sport,” the Sports Investment Forum had over 3,000 attendees and featured leaders from global leagues, clubs, and agencies. The forum highlighted how Saudi Arabia’s sports sector is now surging with private investment, global partnerships, and international acclaim.

According to official figures, the number of registered sports organisations and private clubs in the kingdom has more than doubled in recent years, supported by a strategic plan to increase private sector contribution to 25 per cent of the sports economy.

Deloitte Middle East Partner Robin Butteriss believes Saudi football’s financial trajectory is only heading one way: up. “The current SPL broadcast deal is worth around $80 million a year,” Butteriss said. “By 2030, I expect that to at least double – perhaps even triple – as international distribution improves.”

One in nine do not have enough to eat

Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.

One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.

The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.

Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.

It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.

On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.

Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.

 

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
TO A LAND UNKNOWN

Director: Mahdi Fleifel

Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa

Rating: 4.5/5

Long read

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Titanium Escrow profile

Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue  
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog

Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists. 

Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.

Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic 

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

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The specs

Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 217hp at 5,750rpm

Torque: 300Nm at 1,900rpm

Transmission: eight-speed auto

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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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UAE SQUAD

Khalid Essa, Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammad Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoon Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri

MATCH INFO

Manchester United 6 (McTominay 2', 3'; Fernandes 20', 70' pen; Lindelof 37'; James 65')

Leeds United 2 (Cooper 41'; Dallas 73')

Man of the match: Scott McTominay (Manchester United)

Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

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What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

FIXTURES (all times UAE)

Sunday
Brescia v Lazio (3.30pm)
SPAL v Verona (6pm)
Genoa v Sassuolo (9pm)
AS Roma v Torino (11.45pm)

Monday
Bologna v Fiorentina (3.30pm)
AC Milan v Sampdoria (6pm)
Juventus v Cagliari (6pm)
Atalanta v Parma (6pm)
Lecce v Udinese (9pm)
Napoli v Inter Milan (11.45pm)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi

  

 

 

 

Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.

 
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

VEZEETA PROFILE

Date started: 2012

Founder: Amir Barsoum

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: HealthTech / MedTech

Size: 300 employees

Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)

Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC

Williams at Wimbledon

Venus Williams - 5 titles (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008)

Serena Williams - 7 titles (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016)

Jetour T1 specs

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AT4 Ultimate, as tested

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Squad

Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas) 

NYBL PROFILE

Company name: Nybl 

Date started: November 2018

Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence

Initial investment: $500,000

Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)

Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up 

WHAT IS GRAPHENE?

It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.

Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.

By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.

In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. 

RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile

Started: 2016

Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel 

Based: Ramallah, Palestine

Sector: Technology, Security

# of staff: 13

Investment: $745,000

Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors

Updated: April 14, 2025, 4:19 AM`