Saudi Ministers of Sport and Education Inaugurate 1st Sports School for Talented Athletes

The groundbreaking partnership ceremony between the ministries and the academy was held at Prince Faisal bin Fahad Olympic Complex in Riyadh. SPA
The groundbreaking partnership ceremony between the ministries and the academy was held at Prince Faisal bin Fahad Olympic Complex in Riyadh. SPA
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Saudi Ministers of Sport and Education Inaugurate 1st Sports School for Talented Athletes

The groundbreaking partnership ceremony between the ministries and the academy was held at Prince Faisal bin Fahad Olympic Complex in Riyadh. SPA
The groundbreaking partnership ceremony between the ministries and the academy was held at Prince Faisal bin Fahad Olympic Complex in Riyadh. SPA

Minister of Sport and chairman of the Mahd Sports Academy's board of directors Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal and Minister of Education Yousef Al-Benyan inaugurated the first Government Sports School for Talented Athletes at the middle school level.

The groundbreaking partnership ceremony between the ministries and the academy was held at the academy's headquarters in Prince Faisal bin Fahad Olympic Complex in Riyadh.

Mahd Sports Academy President Abdullah bin Faisal Hammad outlined the academy's achievements since its establishment in 2021. He noted that the Sports School for Talented Athletes will build on the academy's successes and offer talented individuals both educational and sports training in one place.

These individuals will serve as role models for the sports sector, graduating with the knowledge and ambition to achieve championships and titles in future competitions.

He also disclosed that 354 talented individuals in football, athletics, and martial arts were enrolled in the first phase, and the academy aims to identify and nurture one million talents in various sports.

The academy aims to become a global leader in discovering sports talents through its research and innovation center.

Additionally, he highlighted the collaboration with the Ministry of Education on various programs, including the Tamheed program, which involves physical and technical assessments for students in public schools, enabling them to gather information and measurements for nearly half a million students.



AC Milan, Inter Ultras Arrested for Alleged Organized Crime Offences

AC Milan's ultras fans celebrate during a Serie A match against Lecce at the San Siro stadium on September 27, 2024. Gabriel BOUYS / AFP
AC Milan's ultras fans celebrate during a Serie A match against Lecce at the San Siro stadium on September 27, 2024. Gabriel BOUYS / AFP
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AC Milan, Inter Ultras Arrested for Alleged Organized Crime Offences

AC Milan's ultras fans celebrate during a Serie A match against Lecce at the San Siro stadium on September 27, 2024. Gabriel BOUYS / AFP
AC Milan's ultras fans celebrate during a Serie A match against Lecce at the San Siro stadium on September 27, 2024. Gabriel BOUYS / AFP

Hardcore supporters of AC Milan and Inter Milan were arrested on Monday for alleged organized crime offenses, Italian police said.
In a statement, Italy's finance police said that leading figures among the "ultras" of two of the country's most important football clubs had been arrested for "criminal conspiracy aggravated by mafia methods, extortion, assault and other serious crimes".
"The suspects are almost all members of the Milan teams' ultras groups while the crimes relate to revenues made around football," added the finance police.
A police source told AFP that 19 people had been arrested in total, including the two heads of the Inter and Milan ultras, Luca Lucci and Renato Bossetti.
Monday's arrests come a few weeks after the reputed heir of a powerful crime family was killed by one of Bossetti's predecessors.
Andrea Beretta, who himself has a long criminal record, stabbed to death Antonio Bellocco during an altercation outside a boxing gym in a Milan suburb early his month.
Bellocco's death was a shock because of his reportedly high status within the 'Ndrangheta mafia, which led to Beretta's family being placed under special surveillance by the police over fears of violent reprisals.
It also highlighted suspicions that mafia mobs were infiltrating ultra groups, attracted by the earnings some supporters' organizations allegedly earn through illicit activities ranging from ticket touting to drug dealing.
Beretta took a leading role in the Curva Nord section of the San Siro after career criminal Vittorio Boiocchi was shot dead outside his home in October 2022.
Italian media widely reported at the time of his murder aged 69 that Boiocchi had bragged in wiretapped conversations about earning 80,000 euros ($88,000) a month through his position as ultra leader.