MUSCAT: Oman’s Al Shabab club has signed a strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Al Reyadah Sports Academy.
The signing agreement function took place late on Tuesday in Barka under the auspices of Khalid bin Hilal al Maawali, Chairman of Majlis Ash'shura in presence of Ahmed bin Abdullah al Owaisi, Chairman of Al Shabab club, besides many officials and invitees. The agreement was signed by Al Owaisi from the Omani side while Nasser al Aseri, Chairman of the academy signed on behalf of Saudi academy.
The five years agreement will enable the domestic and expatriate potential young faces in football to develop and strengthen their technical capabilities under supervision of professional coaching staff provided by the Al Reyadah Academy.
The Saudi academy has many branches in Asia and Europe and many top players have graduated from this academy. The contract between both parties will furnish the technical and high quality training standards that will assist the clubs to boost their squad and then support the national team with strong players.
The signing event featured attendance of many football icons including Ahmed Eid, former Saudi Football Association chairman, Imad al Hosni, former Omani player in Saudi’s Al Ahli club, besides presence of Fahad al Raisi, OFA Executive Director and many other former international players.
The chairman of Al Shabab club in his speech elaborated on the agreement details.
”This partnership aims to exchange the expertise in different fields including coaching and learning football. There will be series of coaching seminars and training workshops for team managers besides special intensive courses on players development. Many of the top players will get the chance to play in Europe along with the top players to have the right exposure and experience'', he said.
Ahmed Abdullah said the academy will be opened in Barka from June.
“It will target players from the early ages including junior, youth and Olympic players. The agreement is for five years and we hope to get the desired output from this partnership'', he added.
Ahmed Eid said the agreement is part of Oman-Saudi cooperation in the sporting field.
“This is an essential step to develop the junior players in football and provide them with the right environment to develop as football is rapidly improving globally. This agreement will focus on junior and youth categories and will assist them to grow with the necessary skills and experience. This academy have strong technical and logistics strength and this will assist to have better young players in the near future'', he concluded.
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