The Al-Nahda Courier
Boardroom3 Jan 2028
Al-Nahda put Sultan Al-Qahtani on notice
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Market3 Jan 2028
Sami Al-Sheikh hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al-Nahda can pretend not to have heard.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Turki Al-Rashid: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al-Nahda have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Al-Nahda count the cost of losing Arkell Jude-Boyd
51 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Player ratings3 Jan 2028
Nobody could get near Khalil Al-Absi
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Tempers go at Al-Nahda
Faisal Al-Subiani 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.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Words at Al-Nahda training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jorge Zárate 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.
The terraces3 Jan 2028
Al-Nahda supporters have found a favourite in Abdullah Al-Zaid
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Abdullah Al-Zaid has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Match1 Jan 2028
Abdullah Al-Zaid the difference as Al-Nahda beat Al-Njoom
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Abdullah Al-Zaid. 2‑0 against Al-Njoom, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
In brief
- Player ratings A masterclass from Abdullah Al-Zaid
- Boardroom Al-Nahda pull $581.9K back off the table
- Boardroom Al-Nahda were not finished after all