Saudi Arabia Pledges 'Outstanding Experience' for Football Fans at FIFA Club World Cup

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz.  -SPA
Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz. -SPA
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Saudi Arabia Pledges 'Outstanding Experience' for Football Fans at FIFA Club World Cup

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz.  -SPA
Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz. -SPA

Minister of Sport and President of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC) Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal expressed the Kingdom’s commitment to delivering an exceptional experience for football fans during the FIFA Club World Cup in Jeddah, SPA reported.
Saudi Arabia is hosting the tournament for the first time from December 12 to 22, featuring seven competing teams representing the sport’s six continental regions.
"We are delighted to host the FIFA Club World Cup on Saudi Arabian soil for the first time, which reflects the remarkable progress our great nation is witnessing, praise be to Allah," stated the minister of sport.
He further noted that progress in this regard has transformed the Kingdom into a preferred global destination for athletes and a hub for organizing major events across various sports.
The minister attributed this progress to the unwavering support of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom.

The minister extended a warm welcome to all participating teams and sports fans from around the world, underscoring the Kingdom’s commitment to providing football enthusiasts with an extraordinary experience.
He highlighted the previous sports events hosted by the Kingdom, which serve as “a testament to its ascent to global leadership in sports.”



Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv Plays Soccer Game Without Incident in Hungary

28 November 2024, Berlin: Maccabi Tel Aviv fans wave Israeli flags in the stands during the EuroLeague Basketball match between Alba Berlin and Maccabi Tel Aviv at Uber Arena. Photo: Andreas Gora/dpa
28 November 2024, Berlin: Maccabi Tel Aviv fans wave Israeli flags in the stands during the EuroLeague Basketball match between Alba Berlin and Maccabi Tel Aviv at Uber Arena. Photo: Andreas Gora/dpa
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Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv Plays Soccer Game Without Incident in Hungary

28 November 2024, Berlin: Maccabi Tel Aviv fans wave Israeli flags in the stands during the EuroLeague Basketball match between Alba Berlin and Maccabi Tel Aviv at Uber Arena. Photo: Andreas Gora/dpa
28 November 2024, Berlin: Maccabi Tel Aviv fans wave Israeli flags in the stands during the EuroLeague Basketball match between Alba Berlin and Maccabi Tel Aviv at Uber Arena. Photo: Andreas Gora/dpa

Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv's game against Besiktas in the Europa League was played without incident before empty stands in Hungary on Thursday, with the stadium closed to fans over security concerns following attacks on Israeli supporters in Amsterdam this month.
Maccabi won the game 3-1 on a cold and rainy evening in Debrecen, Hungary's second-largest city. Groups of police patrolled outside the stadium but security levels did not appear overwhelming in the city of around 200,000 residents, The Associated Press reported.
After the match, Maccabi coach Zarko Lazetic said playing in front of an empty stadium without fans is always a struggle for the team.
“We play football because of the fans, to give them some pleasure, some excite(ment) and to be together,” he said.
Israel’s soccer teams play domestic games at home despite the Israel-Hamas war. But European soccer body UEFA has ruled that the war in Gaza means Israel cannot host international games.
The Thursday match was Maccabi’s first in Europe since its fans were assaulted in the Netherlands on Nov. 7 in attacks that were condemned as antisemitic by authorities in Israel and across Europe.
Before that match in Amsterdam, a large crowd of Israeli fans chanted anti-Arab slogans, and later, youths on scooters and on foot crisscrossed the city in search of Israeli fans, punching and kicking them, according to the city's mayor.
Five people were treated in hospitals and police detained dozens of people.
Even before the Amsterdam attacks, the European soccer body UEFA announced that Thursday’s Europa League match, originally scheduled to take place in Istanbul, would be moved to a neutral venue “following a decision by the Turkish authorities.”
Hungary, which has hosted several home games for Israel’s national team since the war in Gaza began, agreed to host the game.