Not just games - Riyadh Bureau:
I was barely six months old when Saudi Arabia’s national football team won the Asian Cup for the first time in 1984 after defeating China in the final that was played in Singapore. Four years later, Saudi Arabia retained the title in Doha as they overcame South Korea in a penalty shootout.
Even though I was too young to remember myself, I have such fond memories of these victories because my late father kept a cassette video tape by famous Kuwaiti commentator Khalid al-Harban who made a documentary film on the Saudi back-to-back continental football glory entitled “Masters of Asia.”
Saudi Arabia announced itself as a major football force, qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in 1994 and winning the Asian Cup for a third time in 1996. That marked the peak of a football generation that remains unmatched as the kingdom’s sports found itself increasingly mired in chaos and corruption in the following years.
Meanwhile, the kingdom’s Gulf neighbours have decided to increase their investment in sports to put themselves on the international map. Knowing they lack the required talent pool to compete due to their small native populations, they instead focused on building infrastructure and hosting international tournaments as Saudi Arabia stagnated.
I was barely six months old when Saudi Arabia’s national football team won the Asian Cup for the first time in 1984 after defeating China in the final that was played in Singapore. Four years later, Saudi Arabia retained the title in Doha as they overcame South Korea in a penalty shootout.
Even though I was too young to remember myself, I have such fond memories of these victories because my late father kept a cassette video tape by famous Kuwaiti commentator Khalid al-Harban who made a documentary film on the Saudi back-to-back continental football glory entitled “Masters of Asia.”
Saudi Arabia announced itself as a major football force, qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in 1994 and winning the Asian Cup for a third time in 1996. That marked the peak of a football generation that remains unmatched as the kingdom’s sports found itself increasingly mired in chaos and corruption in the following years.
Meanwhile, the kingdom’s Gulf neighbours have decided to increase their investment in sports to put themselves on the international map. Knowing they lack the required talent pool to compete due to their small native populations, they instead focused on building infrastructure and hosting international tournaments as Saudi Arabia stagnated.
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