President of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, Turki Al Sheikh apologized on Thursday as Russia won the FIFA World Cup 2018TMopener with a 5-0 win against Saudi Arabia.
In a footage that was published by a local newspaper Al Sheikh said he bore full responsibility before Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman for the loss of the Saudi National team.
“Players of the national team disappointed me, we paid them all their financial dues upfront for three years, and they did not even provide five percent of their efforts,” Al Sheikh said.
“There is no Saudi player that is worth more than a million Saudi Riyal per year, and that is why we increased the number of foreign players to eight, we want to prepare a new generation for the 2022 World Cup in order to bear the fruits in the 2026 World Cup,” he added.
Al Sheikh added that he is currently making a plan to rescue the national team and sought the help of the Saudi people as he demanded at least 1,000 young Saudi football players urgently to sign professional contracts and receive proper training.
SOURCE : ALBILAD
