- Al-Asheikh said that the national team was provided with everything that they needed, including one of the best coaches available
- He also said that the solution was to start from scratch and to send 1000 young Saudis abroad and invest in them
JEDDAH: Turki Al-Asheikh, chairman of the board of directors of Saudi Arabia’s General Sports Authority (GSA), took “full responsibility” for the national team’s loss at the World Cup opener in Moscow on Thursday and called for a new generation of young players.
Al-Asheikh said that the national team was provided with everything it needed, including one of the best coaches available, “however these were the capabilities of the current team.”
He said only the team and he himself should take responsibility for Friday night’s results and not the coach.
Al-Asheikh said the solution was to start from scratch and to send 1,000 young Saudis — aged 12 to 16 — abroad and invest in them.
His comments, recorded in a video, were shared widely on social media.
One of the first responses to Al-Asheikh’s comments came from the Saudi Royal court adviser, Saud Al-Qahtani, who tweeted a series of posts in praise of Al-Asheikh taking responsibility. Al-Qahtani said this establishes a new culture in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Asheikh also said that Saudi Arabia would take “necessary legal action” against sport channel BeIN after social media users complained of biased coverage of the Saudi-Russia match.
Saudi Arabia have not won any of their past 11 games at the World Cup (drew two, lost nine). Their last win in the competition dates back to the group stages of the 1994 edition (1-0 v Belgium).
This is Saudi Arabia's fifth World Cup finals tournament and the fifth in which they have failed to win their opening match (drew one, lost four).
Saudi Arabia have conceded 14 headed goals at the World Cup since their debut in 1994, that is five more than any other team over that period (USA - nine).