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NEOM Introduces NEOM Sports Club; Alohali Named Club’s CEO

NEOM Sports Club is expected to play a pivotal role in achieving NEOM’s broader sports objectives.
NEOM Sports Club is expected to play a pivotal role in achieving NEOM’s broader sports objectives.
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NEOM Introduces NEOM Sports Club; Alohali Named Club’s CEO

NEOM Sports Club is expected to play a pivotal role in achieving NEOM’s broader sports objectives.
NEOM Sports Club is expected to play a pivotal role in achieving NEOM’s broader sports objectives.

Following the June announcement of the ownership transfer of Al Suqor Club to NEOM, the company revealed on Sunday that the new name will be NEOM Sports Club with a new logo to reflect the name change.

NEOM also announced that Moaath Alohali has been named CEO of the club after leaving his tenure as CEO of the Saudi Pro League team, Al Ettifaq.

The club’s ownership transfer is part of the Kingdom’s privatization plans for sports clubs recently announced by Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. The plans aim to develop and promote the sports industry and encourage the private sector to become more invested in it, in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.

NEOM Sports Club is expected to play a pivotal role in achieving NEOM’s broader sports objectives and underscores the project’s commitment to supporting local Saudi talent as it becomes a global hub for sports.

Chairman of NEOM Sports Club Meshari Al-Motairi said: “NEOM Sports Club provides us with an opportunity to positively contribute to developing sport in the Kingdom and help achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.”

“In NEOM, sport is a key contributor to a new form of livability, focusing on using sport as a tool for social growth, shaping lifestyle, uniting communities and contributing to NEOM’s dynamic economy,” he added.

“Announcing the new name and logo of the club marks a major milestone for NEOM in realizing its sports objectives, which include investing in active lifestyles and promoting sporting entities,” he said.

“We look forward to honoring the history of the club and its close ties to the local community whilst engaging the best talent and coaches to deliver high-performance athletes and players by providing a comprehensive and future-thinking high-performance ecosystem as guided by our vision.”

CEO of NEOM Sports Club Moaath Alohali said: “Today is a momentous occasion for the club, and we are proud to be a part of it. Our commitment to sport has been evident throughout our history, and alongside NEOM, we now have the opportunity to expand our expertise, grow as a football club and serve our community with several sports that cater to all ages.”

NEOM Sports Club has already made several achievements in multiple sports. In football, the club is currently top of their group in the Second League Division. The club’s youth football team has been competing to qualify for the Saudi Pro League, along with its female team, which was inaugurated and entered the first division. The team are currently focused on achieving promotion to the Women’s Premier League.

The teams at the club competing in badminton for youth and billiards have successfully been promoted to their respective premier leagues. Additionally, the club’s volleyball team is also competing this year for promotion. The club has recently established several basketball teams across different divisions, one of which is for women, in addition to inaugurating a handball academy. In terms of awards, the club won four medals, following participation in six different competitions during the Saudi Games.

Founded in 1965 as Al Suqor Club, the NEOM Sports Club’s Football Team currently competes in the Second Division of the Saudi Pro League. Playing its home matches at the King Khalid Sport City Stadium in Tabuk, its players are predominantly Saudi nationals. Its well-known previous players include Fahad Abo Jaber, Saod Al-Kaebari, and Mohammad Al-Shamrani.

NEOM Sports Club is currently home to 13 different sports, including football, basketball, martial arts and table tennis, with teams and sessions available for men, women and children of all ages.

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Sports

Morocco Captain Saiss Announces International Retirement 

Romain Saiss. (Getty Images file)
Romain Saiss. (Getty Images file)
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Morocco Captain Saiss Announces International Retirement 

Romain Saiss. (Getty Images file)
Romain Saiss. (Getty Images file)

Veteran Morocco captain Romain Saiss announced on Tuesday his retirement from international football, bringing to a close what he called "the most beautiful chapter of my life".

Saiss's decision comes after repeated injuries, including in the last Africa Cup of Nations, where he only played 18 minutes in the opening match against Comoros before he was substituted due to an issue with his left thigh.

The 35-year-old former Angers and Wolverhampton Wanderers center-back said on social media the decision followed "careful reflection" and was made with "immense emotion".

"Wearing the colors of Morocco and becoming their captain will remain the greatest honor of my career," he wrote.

"Every time I wore it, I felt the weight of responsibility, but above all an indescribable pride."

His brief AFCON return in December had followed an 18-month absence, also due to injury, having skippered the side to the 2022 World Cup semi-final.

Saiss's retirement comes just three months ahead of this year's World Cup, in which Morocco are set to face Brazil, Scotland and Haiti.

"I will now be your number one supporter," he said.

"I am leaving the national team, but I will forever remain a Lion."

Saiss will still play for Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd.

Sports

Champions League Playoffs: Bodø/Glimt on the Verge of Big Upset Against Inter Milan

Inter's head coach Cristian Chivu gestures during the UEFA Champions League play-offs 1st leg soccer match between Bodø/Glimt and Inter Milan, in Bodø, Norway, 18 February 2026. (EPA)
Inter's head coach Cristian Chivu gestures during the UEFA Champions League play-offs 1st leg soccer match between Bodø/Glimt and Inter Milan, in Bodø, Norway, 18 February 2026. (EPA)
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Champions League Playoffs: Bodø/Glimt on the Verge of Big Upset Against Inter Milan

Inter's head coach Cristian Chivu gestures during the UEFA Champions League play-offs 1st leg soccer match between Bodø/Glimt and Inter Milan, in Bodø, Norway, 18 February 2026. (EPA)
Inter's head coach Cristian Chivu gestures during the UEFA Champions League play-offs 1st leg soccer match between Bodø/Glimt and Inter Milan, in Bodø, Norway, 18 February 2026. (EPA)

Inter Milan must overturn a two-goal deficit against Bodø/Glimt in Tuesday's Champions League playoffs if it is to avoid becoming the latest giant to be cut down by the tiny Norwegian team.

Bodø/Glimt leads 3-1 after the first leg and has its sights on the round of 16.

Inter — the beaten finalist in two of the last three seasons — plays the second leg at home but is in danger of suffering one of the biggest upsets in the competition's history.

“We should have done better, and there’s a lot of disappointment,” Inter coach Cristian Chivu said. “But we’ve reset and I’m now interested in our approach and our confidence, being the best version of ourselves and knowing we can turn it around.”

Bodø/Glimt's victory last week in Norway saw it follow up back-to-back wins against Manchester City and Atletico Madrid at the end of the league phase.

“We feel we can compete with most teams but at the same time we have nothing to lose,” Bodø/Glimt midfielder Patrick Berg said.

Atletico has work to do after drawing at Club Brugge 3-3.

Newcastle appears to be cruising into the next round after a 6-1 win in Qarabag, while Bayer Leverkusen is in control against Olympiakos following a 2-0 win in the first leg.

Sports

Mexico's Violence-hit Guadalajara to Host World Cup Games

Guadalajara is looking ahead nervously to the World Cup this summer, in which it will host four games. Ulises Ruiz / AFP
Guadalajara is looking ahead nervously to the World Cup this summer, in which it will host four games. Ulises Ruiz / AFP
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Mexico's Violence-hit Guadalajara to Host World Cup Games

Guadalajara is looking ahead nervously to the World Cup this summer, in which it will host four games. Ulises Ruiz / AFP
Guadalajara is looking ahead nervously to the World Cup this summer, in which it will host four games. Ulises Ruiz / AFP

The city of Guadalajara erupted with cartel violence this past weekend, alongside other parts of Mexico, after an army raid left a notorious drug lord dead.

Now, Guadalajara is looking ahead nervously to the World Cup this summer, in which it will host four games, AFP said.

Authorities are turning to technology to keep its slice of the planet's premier sporting event safe, as Mexico is co-hosting the tournament with the United States and Canada.

Drones, anti-drone equipment and AI-driven video surveillance systems are some of the tools the state government of Jalisco -- of which Guadalajara is the capital -- will deploy to provide security.

The preparations come as Jalisco endures an epidemic of disappearances and the discoveries of clandestine graves, with Guadalajara having more of its residents go missing due to brutal drug-related violence than any other city in Mexico.

On Sunday, Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and one of the most wanted men in Mexico and the United States, was killed in a military operation some 130 kilometers (80 miles) from Guadalajara.

The cartel reacted with fury, triggering gunfire with security forces that left at least 57 people dead across Mexico -- both soldiers and cartel members -- as well as highway blockades in 20 states.

Following the burning of buses and businesses, authorities suspended football games in Guadalajara and the central state of Queretaro.

Football's world governing body FIFA declined to comment on the violence in one of the cup's host cities.

On Monday, the streets of Guadalajara remained semi-empty, as businesses stayed shut as classes were suspended in Jalisco. Schools also shut down in a dozen other states.

Days before, state security officials had reported that Guadalajara was "peaceful."

- 'Grotesque situation' -

Jalisco is one of the states with the most disappeared people in all of Mexico, with 12,575 reported missing, according to official statistics. More than half of the cases come from Guadalajara's metropolitan area.

Disappearances are driven by forced recruitment for criminal groups, said Carmen Chinas, an academic at the University of Guadalajara.

Family members of disappeared people have unearthed hundreds of clandestine graves as they look for their loved ones.

Some activists have expressed dismay over Guadalajara's hosting of the World Cup.

"I don't think there is anything to celebrate. It seems like a pretty grotesque situation to me," said 26-year-old Carmen Ponce, whose brother Victor Hugo disappeared in 2020.

"The country celebrates goals while we are here searching," she said at a field where last September she and her mother found buried plastic bags containing the remains of five people.

People are also jittery about hosting World Cup games in a city that has been through so much.

Juan Carlos Contreras, who oversees the city's security camera network, told AFP there could be protests by residents furious with the government as they search for their missing loved ones.

- 'Economic blow' -

Missael Robles, a 31-year-old tour guide from Guadalajara, told AFP that he's cancelled as many as 25 tours since the Oseguera violence exploded on Sunday.

"The economic blow is a big deal," he added.

Authorities have discovered properties used by criminal groups just a few kilometers from the Akron stadium which is due to host World Cup games.

Less than two kilometers (one mile) from the sporting complex, the state prosecutor's office raided a house and arrested two people accused of kidnapping.

AFP saw chains wrapped around metal bars in the abandoned building, with the Akron stadium visible in the distance.

Jose Raul Servin, who has been looking for his son Raul since he disappeared in April of 2018, fears that tourists coming for the World Cup could be preyed on by crime gangs.

"We don't want anything to happen," he said, "like what's happened to us."

Servin remembers with nostalgia that his son was a football fan. "If he were here, he would be happy about the World Cup," he said.