From Riyadh to Hong Kong: Saudi Super Cup fans make presence felt

For football fans who travelled from the Middle East to watch this week’s Saudi Super Cup in Hong Kong, it was about much more than star individuals such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.

Whereas most of the Chinese spectators the Post spoke to were attending purely to see Al-Nassr captain Ronaldo, and to a lesser extent Al-Ittihad skipper Benzema, the Saudi fans saw it as an opportunity to support their teams at a competitive tournament.

All four clubs attracted fan groups to the city from Riyadh, Jeddah and Khobar, and before the matches, they could be seen outside Hong Kong Stadium, handing out free club scarves and waving flags. Inside the ground, they brought the noise, leading chants and banging drums.

Football is by far the most popular sport in Saudi Arabia, with a long history in the men’s game and a fan base for club and international teams that could rival those of some European countries.

Ronaldo’s Riyadh-based club, for instance, have the Al-Nassr Fans Council.

The yellow shirts of Al-Nassr dominate at Hong Kong Stadium on Tuesday. Photo: Elson Li
The yellow shirts of Al-Nassr dominate at Hong Kong Stadium on Tuesday. Photo: Elson Li

“We travel everywhere with the club,” said Mohammed Nasr, who led the group to support their side in the midweek semi-final defeat of Jeddah’s Al-Ittihad, and Saturday’s final. “This time there are around 30 of us, but we have around 4,000 members.

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