Saudi Sport Minister: Leadership Support for Joint Arab Work Positively Impacts Youth

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Sport Minister: Leadership Support for Joint Arab Work Positively Impacts Youth

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Minister of Sport Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal has praised the leadership’s keenness to provide continuous support for joint Arab action during the Kingdom’s chairmanship of the 46th session of the Council of Arab Ministers of Youth and Sports.

The minister spoke on Tuesday at the 47th session of the Council at the Arab League in Cairo.

He expressed gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

The Saudi leadership’s support has significantly contributed to the development and excellence of Arab youth, with honorable and evident impact throughout the Arab world, he added.

The minister emphasized the importance of serious institutional work to fulfil the aspirations of Arab youth. He highlighted the need to strengthen joint Arab efforts to achieve development and progress.

Prince Abdulaziz affirmed that supporting and investing in youth is a national asset. He noted that sustainable and comprehensive development cannot be achieved without relying on youth and providing them with all elements of success and excellence, particularly in the field of sports.



Inter Looking to Power Back up Ahead of Champions League Match at Barcelona

 Inter Milan's Italian coach Simone Inzaghi reacts during the Italian Serie A football match between Inter Milan and Roma at the San Siro stadium in Milan on April 27, 2025. (AFP)
Inter Milan's Italian coach Simone Inzaghi reacts during the Italian Serie A football match between Inter Milan and Roma at the San Siro stadium in Milan on April 27, 2025. (AFP)
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Inter Looking to Power Back up Ahead of Champions League Match at Barcelona

 Inter Milan's Italian coach Simone Inzaghi reacts during the Italian Serie A football match between Inter Milan and Roma at the San Siro stadium in Milan on April 27, 2025. (AFP)
Inter Milan's Italian coach Simone Inzaghi reacts during the Italian Serie A football match between Inter Milan and Roma at the San Siro stadium in Milan on April 27, 2025. (AFP)

Strange things happen when Inter Milan plays Barcelona in the Champions League semifinals.

The last time the two teams met in the final four of Europe’s elite club competition, in 2010, Barcelona had to make a 15-hour journey by bus to Milan after an ash cloud caused by the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull shut down air space.

Barcelona lost that first leg 3-1 and a stout defensive performance by Inter in the return match saw it advance to the final 3-2 on aggregate — where it beat Bayern Munich to clinch a historic treble under Jose Mourinho.

Inter is hoping it won't have to make a similarly arduous journey after an unprecedented blackout brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill Monday.

Power had almost fully returned to Spain early Tuesday morning and Inter’s charter flight was still scheduled to take off for Barcelona at 5 p.m. local time ahead of the first leg of their semifinal on Wednesday.

Barcelona’s 17-year-old star Lamine Yamal said he was caught at the team’s training grounds on the outskirts of the city when power went out just after noon on Monday.

“The truth is that we didn’t know what to do. I was with my teammates all day at the training center,” Yamal said on Tuesday. “The blackout made us all very nervous. But of course, now we are only thinking about the semifinal that we are very motivated to play.”

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi will be hoping his team can power back up for the game as well.

Inter heads to Barcelona following a dire run of results that has seen its dreams of another treble evaporate.

For the first time in more than 13 years, Inter has lost three straight matches without scoring a goal.

Since a 2-2 draw against Bayern in the Champions League quarterfinals, the Nerazzurri have lost 1-0 to both Bologna and Roma in Serie A and 3-0 to AC Milan in the second leg of their Italian Cup semifinal.

That has also seen them been leapfrogged at the top of the Serie A table by Napoli, slipping three points behind the new league leader.

“The three defeats hurt and we’re not used to this, we have to look at ourselves and try to recover our physical and mental energy,” Inzaghi said.

Those three games, however, had something in common: Marcus Thuram was missing.

Thuram, who has been out with a left thigh issue, has scored 17 goals and provided nine assists across all competitions for Inter this season.

Without the France forward, Lautaro Martinez has appeared fatigued attempting to carry Inter’s attack. And Marko Arnautovic, Thuram’s replacement, has been ineffective.

Thuram has returned to training and could even start on Wednesday.

“We’ll head to Barcelona and we will play them with respect, not fear,” Inzaghi added.