The League of Professional Clubs at the Saudi Arabian Football Federation has embarked on a massive initiative to enforce a gradual ban on smoking at all stadiums in the Kingdom. The plan is to impose a total ban effective from the 2015 Zain Saudi League matches. The Saudi football authorities have started taking steps to achieve this goal in the framework of an attempt to improve the environment at stadiums all over the Kingdom. According to studies conducted at the Kingdom's stadiums last year, 15 percent of spectators smoke while watching matches within stadium perimeters and 85 percent of spectators are victims of passive smoking. Speaking to a local Arabic daily, Ahmad Al-Mosaibeeh, director of public relations and media at the League of Professional Clubs, said the league would launch an anti-smoking campaign at Saudi stadiums effective from next season. This is in line with the program announced by Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal, president of Saudi Arabian Football Federation, to improve the environment at stadiums by transforming them into smoke-free zones. According to Al-Mosaibeeh, the smoking ban at football stadiums will be enforced gradually and in the first phase an awareness campaign will begin during the next season. “The second phase will be launched during the 2014 season when smoking will only be allowed in some stadiums. With the launch of the third and final phase in 2015, all stadiums across the Kingdom will become smoke-free zones, and a ban on smoking will be strictly enforced,” he said. Al-Mosaibeeh urged all spectators to comply with the regulations. “Fathers, brothers and sons come to stadiums to enjoy watching their favorite teams play. They have the right to watch the matches in a clean environment. Hence, all must cooperate with us,” he said. It is noteworthy that the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) decided to enforce a complete ban on the use, sale or promotion of tobacco in all stadiums involved in UEFA EURO 2012. The regulation will apply without exception to all spaces within stadium perimeters, both indoors and outdoors. UEFA's decision to ban tobacco from the world's third-biggest sporting event sends a strong message to football fans everywhere, reaffirming the link between football and good health. “A tobacco-free EURO 2012 is about respecting the health of our spectators and everyone else involved in the tournament,” said UEFA President Michel Platini. “We uphold the highest standards of health, safety and comfort at our flagship tournament, and tobacco does not fit in with our objectives.” Commenting on the issue, Abdul Rahman Al-Misaad, director of the branch office of the Youth Welfare Presidency in the Central Region, said that there is an order from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah banning the use of tobacco at all government offices, including sports institutions. “There are also individual initiatives, in cooperation with the concerned agencies, to make firms and facilities, including football stadiums, smoke-free zones. The presidency and the League of Professional Clubs have also organized awareness workshops aimed at putting an end to this undesirable phenomenon in a staggered manner,” he said. Referring to material losses to institutions due to smoking, he said that it does great harm to all institutions. “The presidency, represented by its technical committee, is monitoring the annual budgetary expenditure to repair the damage caused to sports institutions and facilities by smokers,” he said. Al-Misaad said the presidency officials are afraid of fires (caused by smoking). “Hence, we are always on alert (while matches are taking place) and have taken precautionary arrangements in cooperation with Civil Defense authorities. So far such accidents have not taken place,” he said. Suleiman Al-Sughair, director of operation and maintenance at Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh said that he hoped that there would not be any delay in imposing a ban on smoking in stadiums. “There are spectators who have left the stadium after becoming irritated by smokers while some others have been harmed due to passive smoking,” he said. Al-Sughair, who has been working at the stadium office for 28 years, said: “Fathers who come to watch matches together with their children are among the worst victims of passive smoking. A large number of people told me that even though they wanted to watch matches, they stay away from stadiums because of smokers,” he said, adding that there are some smokers who show respect to other spectators. “I saw them leaving the stadium or moving to an isolated corner to smoke,” he said. According to Al-Sughair, the stadium management is always striving to spread the message of anti-smoking. “As part of our special campaign, we show slides highlighting the danger of smoking on the lareg screen set up at the stadium,” he said. An official of a charity society urged the authorities to impose a ban on smoking at stadiums last year. Suleiman Al-Sabi, secretary general of the Charity Society to Combat Smoking (Niqaa), said that smoking is contrary to the spirit of sports. “It is the right of every spectator to breathe clean air, not mixed with tobacco. The authorities should at least restrict smoking to a limited number of stadiums,” he said. Commenting on the issue, Abdul Aziz Al-Sinani, director of the presidency office in Al-Qassim region, said that smokers are a problem for stadium administrative officials because they damage the facilities. For example, he said, there are 25,000 chairs in the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium. “We have to clean these chairs on a daily basis during the season. Workers have to collect cigarette butts littered under the chairs, and this often causes damage to the chairs,” he said, adding that smokers also throw cigarette butts in toilets, causing damage to the Saudi sports culture. While emphasizing the need for launching anti-smoking awareness programs and imposing a gradual ban on smoking in stadiums, he said that smokers are causing harm to those spectators who do not smoke. The project that was launched in the middle of the current season covers the following stadiums: King Fahd International Stadium, Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium, Prince Abdullah Bin Jalawi Sports City Stadium, King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, Prince Muhammad Bin Fahd Stadium, Prince Salman Sports City Stadium, Al-Ukhdud Club Stadium, Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Sports City Stadium and Prince Muhammad Sports City Stadium.
