Six-a-side football event in the offing

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – Fitness Time is organizing the country’s biggest six-a-side football tournament to be held concurrently in nine cities of the Kingdom, it was announced here Saturday.

The tournament, under the theme “Footbal Revolution” aims to show the initiative to set up sporting events at a high level of organization and planning in order to involve the community in vital activities.

According to Abdul-Mohsen Al-Haqbani, Chairman of the Board of LJAM Sport Company, the tournament coincides with World Cup 2010, the time when football mania reaches its peak. He added that the competition gives a golden opportunity to local clubs to discover new football talents. “Football arouses enthusiasm of the larger segment of the world population of different age groups and cultures. Saudi Arabia is no exception,” he told a press conference.

A recent study, Haqbani said, has found out that nearly 82 percent of their patrons play football in addition to body-building, fitness regimes and aerobics.

“Some 78% of our visitors practice swimming as an additional activity while 53% play volleyball. Basketball came third at 38%. Handball is being played by only 19% of the visitors,” he said.

Haqbani also announced that their social responsibility has made them decide to introduce a specialized health magazine. “For this publication, we will hire health expert writers to target the community health concerns and shed light on the importance of preserving good health. We will also try to help fight the society’s most dangerous phenomenon; obesity,” Haqbani added.

Haqbani told Saudi Gazette that they are ready to host women in their centers whenever approved by the authorities.

The four-month competition will go through three stages; the registration stage which expires on March 23, and the playoffs stage in the period from March 25 until April 21. Registered teams will compete for representation of their city on a card at the final stage which extends from April 22 until the final match on May 6.

Mohamed Sabih, Marketing Manager at LJAM Sport Company, predicted that the registration stage will produce 5,500 participants. “Teams from Riyadh, Jeddah, Madina, Khamis Mushayt, Makkah, Tabuk, Hail and Dammam will compete in knockout matches,” Sabih said.