Saudi football club Shabab to host Roma during Riyadh Season

RIYADH: One of Saudi Arabia’s oldest football club is set to mark the their diamond jubilee with a match against Roma, one of Italy’s iconic clubs.

The Saudi club was founded in Riyadh in 1947 and their name, Shabab, means youth in Arabic.

Playing on the club’s youthful name and its long history, Saudi entertainment chief Turki Al-Sheikh wrote on X that the “Old man of clubs” will mark its diamond jubilee by facing the Giallorossi during Riyadh Season, a key fixture on the Saudi entertainment calendar.

Al-Sheikh did not mention when the match will take place, nor did Shabab.

The Riyadh club have won the Saudi league six times along with half a dozen national cups.

Roma, who have made a slow start to their Serie A campaign this season with only six points from 5 games, have won the league three times and  league competitions 11 times.

The next Supercoppa Italiana will be played in Saudi Arabia on Jan. 4, 2024, with the final on Jan. 8 and will see champions Inter attempt to defend the cup from Napoli, Lazio and Fiorentina. Super cup games have been hosted in the Kingdom since 2018, except for two years due to Covid restrictions.