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flynas Named Official Carrier of Saudi Al-Hilal Club with Four-Season Sponsorship Deal

The agreement aligns with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, which aims for the sports sector to support both the economy and tourism. (SPA)
The agreement aligns with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, which aims for the sports sector to support both the economy and tourism. (SPA)
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flynas Named Official Carrier of Saudi Al-Hilal Club with Four-Season Sponsorship Deal

The agreement aligns with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, which aims for the sports sector to support both the economy and tourism. (SPA)
The agreement aligns with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, which aims for the sports sector to support both the economy and tourism. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia's flynas, the low-cost airline in the world and the best LCC in the Middle East, signed on Tuesday an exclusive sponsorship agreement with Al-Hilal Al-Saudi Club Company to serve as the club’s official air carrier for four seasons, extending through the end of the 2027-2028 season.

The agreement aligns with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, which aims for the sports sector to support both the economy and tourism.

The agreement was signed by flynas CEO Bander Almohanna and Al-Hilal Al-Saudi Club Company Chairman Fahad bin Saad bin Nafel, in the presence of flynas Chairman Ayed Al Jeaid and other senior executives from both sides.

Almohanna stated that flynas’ entry into the sports sector for the first time underscores its commitment to empowering the sports sector to support the economy and tourism.

This partnership will contribute to providing extensive services and products that meet the aspirations of their traveling guests, he added.

The partnership with Al-Hilal Club is consistent with flynas’ position as one of the top four low-cost airlines in the world and the best LCC in the Middle East, he added.

He emphasized Al-Hilal Club's remarkable track record of success locally and globally, aligning with flynas’ strategy for growth, expansion, and connecting the world to the Kingdom, particularly as Saudi Arabia has become a global destination for many sports, championships, and competitions.

Al-Hilal Chairman Fahad bin Saad bin Nafel expressed his enthusiasm about the partnership, describing it as a significant step and one of the largest partnership deals recently concluded by the club.

The partnership embodies the integration between the economic and sports sectors, which will positively contribute to achieving the objectives of Vision 2030, he remarked.

flynas connects more than 70 domestic and international destinations with more than 1,500 weekly flights and has flown more than 80 million passengers since its launch in 2007.

It aims to reach 165 domestic and international destinations as part of its growth and expansion plan launched under the slogan “We connect the world to the Kingdom,” in line with the objectives of Vision 2030.

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Al Rajhi Takes over Dakar Rally Lead after Miserable Stage for Lategan

Driver Yazeed Al Rajhi and co-driver Timo Gottschalk compete during the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally between Riyadh and Haradh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)
Driver Yazeed Al Rajhi and co-driver Timo Gottschalk compete during the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally between Riyadh and Haradh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)
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Al Rajhi Takes over Dakar Rally Lead after Miserable Stage for Lategan

Driver Yazeed Al Rajhi and co-driver Timo Gottschalk compete during the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally between Riyadh and Haradh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)
Driver Yazeed Al Rajhi and co-driver Timo Gottschalk compete during the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally between Riyadh and Haradh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)

Local driver Yazeed Al Rajhi took advantage of a miserable stage by South Africa's Henk Lategan to grab the Dakar Rally lead in the Saudi Arabia desert on Tuesday.

Lategan led the Dakar for the past week, but errors and bad luck on the 357-kilometer ninth stage from Riyadh south-east to Haradh turned his overall lead of more than five minutes over Al Rajhi into a potentially decisive seven-minute deficit.

The rally has effectively two days and 400 kilometers remaining in the dunes of the Empty Quarter. The last day, Friday, is a ceremonial drive to the finish line in Shubaytah.

Al Rajhi, like Lategan, has never won the Dakar. This is the Saudi's 11th attempt with a best finish of third in 2022. He'd been lying second since last Wednesday. The title race appears to be between only them.

Third-placed Mattias Ekström of Sweden and five-time champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar were about 25 minutes behind.

“It's a bit of disaster to be honest,” Lategan said. “About 13 kilometers in we got lost. We thought we missed the waypoint but we actually had it. When we got lost we got one puncture and then towards the end we got another one and the wheel is actually flat. So, it was a messy, messy, messy day for us but it's not the end of the world, we're still in it.”

Lategan and navigator Brett Cummings were 11th on the stage and Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk third.

“We did a great job like we planned to,” Al Rajhi said. “We pushed well. We enjoyed it, that's the most important. I hope everything goes well the next two or three days to win the Dakar ... I will fight to win. It won't be easy.”

Al-Attiyah won the stage ahead of Belgium’s Guillaume de Mévius in under three hours to rise to one minute off third place overall.

His 49th car stage win, and first in the Dakar for Romanian manufacturer Dacia, lifted him to only one behind the record jointly held by Finland's Ari Vatanen and France's Stephane Peterhansel.

Sanders cushions motorbike lead Australian rider Daniel Sanders bolstered his motorbike lead to nearly 15 minutes when closest challenger, Spain's Tosha Schareina, crashed early.

The back wheel of Schareina's Honda hit a rock and sent him flying only 20 kilometers in. He resumed racing but the nearly four minutes he finished behind Sanders dropped him in the general standings.

Schareina's teammate Adrien van Beveren of France remained third, more than 20 minutes behind, while Sanders' KTM teammate Luciano Benavides of Argentina strengthened his position in fourth place by winning his second successive stage.

Benavides, thanks to collecting time bonuses of nearly five minutes by opening the way, beat Van Beveren by nearly two minutes, and repeated his win into Haradh two years ago. Sanders was third after leading until about 70 kilometers from the end.

“I only got lost a couple of times ... and lost a little bit of time,” Sanders said. “I could have pushed and made some more (time) but it's not too bad.”