King Salman Cup Announced As Name For Arab Club Champions Cup

The Union of Arab Football Associations has announced that the Arab Club Champions Cup will be renamed the King Salman Club Cup moving forward. The event will begin with the preliminary qualifiers later this year, and royalty revealed that they were delighted to be sharing their name with the event. The AFA also thanked the royals for their participation in the event this year, and their continued support of the sport in the region.

Saudi Arabia Continues Hosting Big Events

The 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup will be yet another huge event that will be staged in the region of Saudi Arabia. It’s important that the region continues to host big sporting events, as it ensures that fans within the country can get closer to the action. The number of events that are being held in the country is also having a positive impact on the number of customers signing up for accounts at the best Arabic betting sites.

It is likely to be a hugely popular event held in the region and will kickstart a massive year of events within the region. As well as hosting the Arab Club Champions Cup, it was also announced recently that the region will be playinghost to the FIFA Club World Cup in late 2023. There is also growing speculation that the nation may also make a move to host the World Cup in the coming years.

Ronaldo Impact

It would appear as though the signing of one of the world’s greatest players is having a positive impact on the nation and its goal to host prestigious events. Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Al Nassr was a shock to many, but his performances on the pitch at present are almost as big as the impact that he is making off the field.

Ronaldo’s arrival has seen the popularity of soccer increase immeasurably in the nation, and hosting the Arab Club Champions Cup later this year will certainly piggyback on that success, and take the popularity to a new level. Only time will tell whether Saudi Arabia will be hosting a World Cup, but if the success of the sport continues for years to come, then it wouldn’t be difficult to envisage that playing out the way many Saudis will be hoping.

What Is The Arab Club Champions Cup?

The Arab Club Champions Cup has been competed since 1981, with the top 37 teams from the Asian and African confederations clashing. The inaugural tournament was held in 1981, with the tournament being played alongside the Arab Cup Winners’ Cup and Arab Super Cup. However, this changed in the early 2000s, as the tournaments merged.

The inaugural edition of the tournament as we know it today was won by Iraqi club Al-Shorta, who claimed a victory over Nejmeh over two legs. Saudi Arabian clubs have dominated the tournament throughout its history, with teams from the nation picking up eight victories.

In total, 19 different teams have won the Arab Club Champions Cup, with only ES Setif claiming victories in back-to-back editions of the event. The two sides that share the record for the most wins in the event are Esperance de Tunis and Al Rasheed. However, the latter of those teams is now defunct.

Previous Edition Of The Event

The previous Arab Club Champions Cup was held in Morocco in 2019 and was named after Mohamed VI. It was the 29th time that the competition was held, and Etoile du Sahel went into the competition as the defending champions. However, their hold on the title didn’t last long, as they were eliminated in the opening round by Shabab Al-Ordon.

It was another thrilling renewal of the event, with Raja Casablanca eventually claiming success in Arab Club Champions Cup. The Moroccan team eventually prevailed in a thrilling final against Al Ittihad Jeddah, despite the sides playing out a thrilling 4-4 draw after extra time. However, the now-champions landed their victory from the penalty spot to their hands on the prestigious honor for the second time in their history.

Conclusion

This year’s event promises to be one of the most engaging in recent memory, as there will be a high number of quality teams involved throughout the event. However, we will need to wait until later in the year to find out the teams that will be participating in the competition when the qualifying gets underway. However, it looks to be a lucrative event for teams, with a total of $10 million available in prize money to the winning side.