RIYADH — Football fans are eagerly awaiting the kick-off for the King Salman Club Cup in which 16 premier Arab clubs will compete for the Arab Clubs Champions Cup title. All eyes are on Karim Benzema, the winner of men's Ballon d'Or 2022, who joined Al-Ittihad Club of Jeddah, the runner up of the Arab Clubs Cup, and Saudi Pro League title holders. The tournament, to be hosted by Saudi Arabia, is the Arab championship in which Benzema, one of the most outstanding footballers on the globe, is playing for the first time after joining the Jeddah-based club. The premier club championship in the Arab world, to be organized by the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA), will feature 16 top-tier clubs from across the Gulf and North Africa region. The final round of the 30th season of the tournament will be held at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Stadium in Abha, King Saud Sport City Stadium of Al-Baha and King Fahd Stadium of Taif during the period from July 27 to August 12. A total of 37 teams are participating in the tournament, which starts with preliminary and qualifying rounds, before the final tournament. Four group winners and four group runners-up from the group stage will compete in the knockout quarter finals of the tournament. The Moroccan Raja Club Athletic (RCA) of Casablanca is the defending Arab Club Champions. During the final match of 2019-20 tournament held in Morocco, Raja defeated Al-Ittihad to win the title. The Al-Ittihad team has set up its preparatory camp in Taif where it will play with three clubs, two from Tunisia and one from Iraq, in the group. It will meet first the Esperance Tunis, and then Tunisian Sfaxien, while the last match is with the Iraqi police. Al-Ittihad is all set to regain the cup after signing with Benzema and a number of star players under the leadership of its Portuguese coach Nuno Santo. These players also include the French midfielder N'Golo Kante from Chelsea, as well as the young Portuguese winger Gota, who comes from the Scottish Celtic club, in addition to the Saudi midfielder Sultan Al-Farhan and winger Saleh Al-Omari, who joined Al-Ittihad from Al-Raed and Abha clubs respectively. Al-Ittihad is preparing to include another star, the Brazilian Fabinho, the Liverpool midfielder, who will represent a great addition to the team that also preserved its professional stars, Moroccan Abdel-Razzak Hamdallah, Brazilian Romarinho, and fellow goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe.
