Football
Football is the national sport in Saudi Arabia. In recent years, the sport has grown in popularity, and some Saudi players currently play in Europe. The Saudi Arabian national football team is governed by the Saudi Football Federation (SFF). The SFF organises the Saudi Leagues, and the Saudi Arabian Cup. The Saudi national team has competed in four FIFA World Cup competitions, in 1994, 1998, 2002, and most recently, in 2006. The Saudi team has also competed in seven AFC Asian Cup competitions, first in 1984. Achievements from the AFC Cup include being the Champions in 1984, 1988, and recently, in 1996. The current player of the year is Hussein Sulaimani, who is the captain of Saudi Arabian football team. Saudi Arabia also regularly participate in the Gulf Cup of Nations, AFC Champions League, and Arab Nations Cup.
Read more about this topic: Sport In Saudi Arabia
Famous quotes containing the word football:
“...I’m not money hungry.... People who are rich want to be richer, but what’s the difference? You can’t take it with you. The toys get different, that’s all. The rich guys buy a football team, the poor guys buy a football. It’s all relative.”
—Martina Navratilova (b. 1956)
“People stress the violence. That’s the smallest part of it. Football is brutal only from a distance. In the middle of it there’s a calm, a tranquility. The players accept pain. There’s a sense of order even at the end of a running play with bodies stewn everywhere. When the systems interlock, there’s a satisfaction to the game that can’t be duplicated. There’s a harmony.”
—Don Delillo (b. 1926)
“You can’t be a Real Country unless you have A BEER and an airline—it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a BEER.”
—Frank Zappa (1940–1993)