Saleh Fareed

Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — The new logo of the Abdul Latif Jameel League was unveiled at a ceremony here. The event was hosted by Chairman of Board Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel at the premises of Abdul Latif Jameel Company, the official sponsors of the Saudi Professional League 2013-2014.



Top executives and members of top management and a large number of ALJ’s staff attended the event.



 While introducing the new logo, Adel Ezzat, Managing Director of Marketing at ALJ, highlighted the sponsorship of ALJ of the Saudi Pro League and said, “As a socially responsible corporate citizen of Saudi Arabia, Abdul Latif Jameel is committed to being a proactive member of the community and believes in supporting the Kingdom's youth by initiatives that develop Saudi sports.”



Ezzat revealed the Abdul Latif Jameel League team has been striving hard to meet the deadline of the official kick off of the new season in order to bring Saudi football to a new level and to develop opportunities and create added value for Saudi football.



Before the end of Saudi football season 2012-2013, the Saudi Football federation had announced it has signed a new sponsorship deal with Abdul Latif Jameel Company that will pay the league SR120 million annually for six years starting this season. The deal has been considered as the biggest ever in Saudi football history.



Martino set to take over at Barca – reports



Former Newell’s Old Boys and Paraguay national team manager Gerardo Martino is set to become the new Barcelona coach, numerous sources in the Spanish media reported Monday.



It is expected that the Argentine will arrive in Barcelona Tuesday to sign a three-year deal with the Catalans, who have moved quickly to replace Tito Vilanova after he was forced to resign Friday due to on-going ill health.



Martino, who hails from Rosario, the same city where Barca star Lionel Messi grew up, recently left Newell’s despite leading them to the Argentine Clausura title and to the Copa Libertadores semifinals.