The Al-Batin Herald
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Nobody could get near Omar El Manssouri
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Al-Batin
Simon Falette was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
3 academy players handed senior numbers at Al-Batin
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Raouf Soltani signs a new deal
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Raouf Soltani commits to Al-Batin for another 3 years.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Al-Batin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Omar El Manssouri is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market17 Aug 2026
One of our own: Turki Al-Khaibari joins the Al-Batin first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Turki Al-Khaibari is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market17 Aug 2026
Bandar Al-Sheikh steps up from the Al-Batin academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Bandar Al-Sheikh has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market17 Aug 2026
Al-Batin promote Rashid Al-Mutairi from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Rashid Al-Mutairi has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market17 Aug 2026
A long bet from Al-Batin on Raouf Soltani
He is 20, and nobody at Al-Batin signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
In brief
- Player ratings Youssouf M'Changama stands above it all
- Match Al-Batin draw a blank against Al-Nahda
- Squad Turki Al-Khaibari makes his debut at 16