Salalah claim second spot, Seeb finish third
Muscat, Dec 14
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth announced the top winners of the His Majesty the Sultan’s Youth Cup for the year 2019. Ahli Sidab club lifted the prestigious HM Youth cup for the second consecutive time while Salalah Club were the runners-up and Seeb club came in third place.
Assigned by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, HH Sayyid Taimour bin Asaad al Said, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO), awarded the trophies to the clubs’ chairmen in presence of HH Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham al Said, Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth and top dignitaries.
Dr Marwan al Juma, Chairman of Ahli Sidab received the winner’s trophy from chief guest HH Sayyid Taimour bin Asaad al Said and HH Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham al Said along with a cheque of RO 30,000. Runners-up Salalah received the silver shield and a cash prize of RO 28,000 and the Seeb vice-chairman received the bronze shield and a cash prize of RO 26,000.
Al Nasr dropped one spot and came in the fourth place while Ibri Club remained in the fifth place as in the last year. Al Salam and Dhofar Clubs registered a comeback by attaining sixth and seventh places respectively. Al Bashayer Club dropped two positions than last year and came in the eighth place. Sohar were placed in ninth position and Saham remained in the 10th place.
The ceremony featured handing over of the Youth Excellence Prize 2020 to the winners. In October, the ministry had announced the list of 21 winners for the Youth Excellence Award to honour the Omani youth for their contributions in the youth sector. Nine fields including the categories of individuals, initiatives, and youth enterprises were evaluated for the award.
As many as 38 clubs took part in this edition of the HM Youth Cup compared to 30 clubs in the last edition. The teams included Ahli Sidab, Seeb, Oman Club, Muscat, Bausher, Qurayat, Salalah, Al Nasr, Dhofar, Nizwa, Sohar, Saham, Al Suwaiq, Al Rustaq, Al Khabourah, Al Ittifaq, Al Nahdha, Bahla, Al Musannah, Al Shabab, Al Ittihad, Yanqul, Al Mudhaibi, Ibri, Majees, Al Wusta, Samayel, Khasab, Al Bashayer, Al Salam, Al Wahda, Sur, Al Taleia, Bedia, Al Oruba, Madha, Daba and Bukha.
Ahli Sidab Chairman Dr Marwan al Juma, said attaining some achievement is difficult but retaining it is more difficult. “The achievement was an outcome of teamwork at the club level including top efforts from the players, administration, technical staff of all sporting teams, board members and youth committees. A dedicated thanks to Shaikh Khalid al Zubair, the honorary chairman,“ he added.
The chief of Muscat-based club added that the plan was clear from beginning to continue the development by taking part in all the youth, culture and sporting activities.
Sheikh Ali al Rawood Fadhil, Chairman of Salalah club, expressed satisfaction over the club’s performance. “The year 2019 was an excellent year for us. Thanks to all the team members in sporting teams and youth groups. Being among the top winners of the HM Cup for Youth is a huge encouragement for the club to boost its number of sports activities. Our aim is to claim the first place award next year and we will work hard to achieve this target. Many thanks to all Ministry officials for their continuous support and looking forward to further support in the upcoming period,” the Salalah chief added.
The HM Youth Cup considered different factors in the evaluation process. It featured clubs’ contribution in the individual and group sports as well as the presence of clubs in domestic and external sports events. This time, the Ministry had added a new item in evaluation — the administration and financial management which included the reports records, competitions reports and other board meeting minutes.
Adil Al Balushi
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