Inconsistent Al-Hilal drop more points with time running out for title hopes
DAMMAM: Second-place Al-Hilal fell further behind in the Saudi Pro League title race on Friday as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Ettifaq.
Uae Sport News
SEF arena inauguration heralds exciting new era for Saudi esports
RIYADH: Esports in Saudi Arabia is set for an exciting new era following the official opening of the new SEF Arena.
Sainz escapes fine for bad language
SAKHIR, Bahrain :Williams Formula One driver Carlos Sainz escaped a potential 40,000 euro ($45,370) fine for bad language on Friday after the governing body decided not to refer him to stewards at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Norris turns on the heat at sweltering Bahrain practice
SAKHIR: World championship leader Lando Norris topped the timesheets in a baking hot opening practice ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday. It was hunt-some-shade time on a sweltering afternoon in the Gulf kingdom — 35 degrees celsius and track temperature nudging 50 degrees. As a consequence the relevance of the opening session on the rest of the weekend will be minimal, with second practice later Friday, Saturday’s qualifying and the race itself all staged at sunset and in cooler temperatures. That was one main factor in teams using ‘FP1’ to give a half dozen rookies a shot as a ‘Friday driver’ as per the governing body’s guidelines. As a result, four-time world champion Max Verstappen, one point adrift of Norris in the driver’s standings after his win in Japan last weekend, had some down time with Ayumua Iwasa taking the wheel of his Red Bull. Dino Beganovic was handed the keys to Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari. Other new faces were Fred Vesti (in for Mercedes’ George Russell), Luke Browning (Williams/Carlos Sainz), Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin/Fernando Alonso) and Ryo Hirakawa, in for Ollie Bearman at Haas. Williams team principal James Vowles explained the reasoning behind running Browning rather than Sainz, third to Verstappen in last year’s race for Ferrari. “It’s much, much warmer than it will be so it is unrepresentative, and (Sainz) has done many hundreds of kilometers around here.
India Bids For 2031 AFC Asian Cup, Will Fight Out With Six Other Countries
India has submitted 'Expression of Interest (EoI)' to host the 2031 AFC Asian Cup, the continent's showpiece football event, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said on Friday. The AIFF was one of the seven national football bodies which submitted the EoI before the deadline of March 31. "Yes, we have submitted the EoI to host the 2031 AFC Asian Cup. Let us see how it goes," AIFF's deputy secretary general M Satyanarayan told PTI. India will face tough competition from established football powerhouses such as Australia, South Korea and United Arab Emirates to get the right to host the tournament. Indonesia and Kuwait have also submitted the EoI while there is a joint bid of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Dubai World Cup 2025 sets new attendance record
DUBAI: The 29th edition of the Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse last weekend attracted a crowd of more than 65,000 racing enthusiasts to set a new record for the venue.
Meet Ali Al-Shabeeb, the Geordie Saudi who scored at Wembley and dreams of SPL move
LONDON: When Ali Al-Shabeeb starts talking, his Geordie accent is unmistakable. Although he was born in Dammam, Al-Shabeeb left Saudi Arabia when he was 8 years old to move with his family to Newcastle. He went to school there, stayed in the northeast of England to go to Northumbria University, and now plays football there too, for FC Darlington.
PFL MENA announces fight card for 2025 opening event in Jeddah
JEDDAH: The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has announced the fight card for the opening event of the 2025 PFL MENA season, which will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday, May 9, 2025.