Some 80 percent of sports clubs have fallen into the Nitaqat red zone which means they cannot renew work permits, recruit new workers or change the professions of their current employees, it was reported in a section of the Arabic press Tuesday. Hattab Al-Enezi, spokesman of the Ministry of Labor, said Article Seven of the Labor Law exempts players and coaches from the Nitaqat rules, but the remaining staff has to adhere to the program's regulations. This means the clubs have to employ more Saudis to reach the green and excellent zones. Saud Al-Abdul Aziz, Deputy President of Youth Welfare for Club Affairs, said a committee of the Presidency of Youth Affairs will meet with the Ministry of Labor to find a solution. “We addressed the officials of the ministry one month ago and are still waiting to meet them to find a radical solution to this problem,” he said. Jassim Al-Yaqout, former chairman of Al-Qadisia Club, said many club jobs can be Saudized. “There are more than 1,000 positions in these clubs including the posts of secretary, financial accountant, supervisor of sports activities, supervisor of social activities, typist, storekeeper, security and safety, bus driver and telephone exchange operator that can be localized.” Last month Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal Bin Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz, General President of Youth Welfare and President of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, was quoted as saying that the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee may allow non-Saudis born in the Kingdom to represent Saudi Arabia in various international sports events. He said the subject would be tabled for discussion at the Committee's next meeting. Announcing a number of decisions relating to Saudi football, Prince Nawaf said that the use of loudspeakers would be permitted in stadiums under certain conditions. He also renamed the Saudi Professional League as the League of Professional Clubs and ordered that local teams could hire no more than three foreign professional players.
