It was a grand beginning of a soccer tournament for the expatriate community in the Eastern province here recently. Dr. Habeeb Rabban, a council member of West Asian Athletic Federation and Saudi Arabian Athletic Federation and advisor to the Saudi University Sports Federation, inaugurated the festival with a token kickoff for the USG Boral football tournament at Al-Tharaj Stadium, off Dammam-Jubail highway. The United Football Club (UFC), one of the leading clubs for expatriate Indians, is organizing the tournament. It invited the International Indian School, Dammam, band for a march past to give a tumultuous opening to the tournament in which 12 teams are participating. Maan Zeaiter, the Steel plant operation manager of USG Boral, took the guard of honor from the participating teams. The function was attended by prominent personalities from the Eastern Province. The chairman of the International Indian School, Abdul Waris, Dr. Mohamed Shaffie, principal of IISD, Dr. Abdussalam Kanniyan, secretary general of Saudi Indian Football Federation, Muneer (Royal Travels), Albin (Express Money), Muhammed Sufyan (BPL Cargo) and many others were present at the inauguration ceremony. The matches were officiated by referees from the Saudi Football Referees Board. In the first match, Youth Club Al-Khobar beat Malabar United in extra time, after the match ended in a goalless draw. In the second match, Corniche Soccer Club thrashed Kepwa Club 3-1 and booked its berth in the quarterfinals. The winners and best players were given cash awards and mementos.
