The Saudi Sports for All Federation (SFA) announced today the launch of the National Cricket Championship in its second edition, in cooperation with the Saudi Cricket Federation, where the Saudi Sports for All Federation hosts matches over four months in 11 cities in 10 regions of the Kingdom, targeting 8,000 participants.
The Championship gradually kicks off in several cities, including Riyadh, Dammam, Jubail, Qassim, Tabuk, Medina, Yanbu, Jeddah, Abha, Jizan, and Najran. It is also held simultaneously during the national championship, the Softball Cricket Championship, with the participation of about 5,000 players over four months in 6 cities in the Kingdom.
Softball Cricket is a simpler version of cricket, played using a soft ball, and is designed to increase the chances of playing the game from all age groups. This championship encourages cricket lovers and community members to raise their fitness levels and target a new segment of cricket players for the ease of practicing softball. These events aim to provide sports activities that are widely popular with residents inside the Kingdom, especially those from countries where this game is very popular, such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
Cricket also contributes to improving the skills of working among the members of the same team, in addition to its health benefits in terms of developing physical and cardiac fitness, endurance, and enhancing coordination between hand and eye movement.
The championship is expected to attract about 38,000 participants, where each team will receive one round and have 20 chances, and at the end of the game, the winning team and runner-up will receive prizes and sums of money. In addition to awarding a selected group of participants performance awards, this will be organized by the Saudi Sports for All Federation in cooperation with the Saudi Cricket Federation.
“The return of the national championships, developed with our respected partners at the Cricket Federation, is an exciting time for the SFA. The engagement from across the country was electric in its first edition, and we have even higher expectations for this year’s kickoff,” said HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, President, Sports for All Federation. “The SFA continues to build on past successes; you asked for another competitive series, and we answered!”
Prince Khaled added that the previous championship was one of the SFA’s most popular. “The championship will engage residents, and contribute to strengthening social communication while raising the standard of physical fitness,” he said.
Besides, the Chairman of the Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation, HRH Prince Saud bin Mishal bin Mohammed Al Saud, welcomed this cooperation with the Saudi Sports for All Federation and said: “The National Cricket Championship is one of the most significant achievements of the Quality of Life Program in the sports sector in 2021. Since its inception last year, it has succeeded in increasing the popularity of the game and raising the number of its practitioners to a record level in most regions in the Kingdom, and we look forward to cooperation with our partners to involve all categories and increase the number of practitioners and reach all regions
He added: “We hope to organize activities and tournaments that will contribute to increasing the popularity of the game and raise the interest of individuals of different ages and abilities in this ancientgame,” stressing that they aim to facilitate the practice of sports more smoothly and efficiently for all segments of society.
The launch of the second edition of the championship comes after the success achieved last year, where nearly 36,000 participants participated through 369 teams and 15 cricket associations in 9 regions of the Kingdom, and the championship lasted for 14 weeks, on 106 stadiums, with the help of 456 professional officials and volunteers.
