Wednesday 24 / April / 2024
Muscat: The Oman Football Association (OFA) is free of financial deficit. That is the major news to emerge out of the OFA’s General Assembly organised at Sheraton Muscat Hotel on Saturday.
The Annual Generally Assembly, which was attended by 33 out of 44 affiliated clubs, saw the members discuss various topics of importance, including the financial situation of the association, the status of the national teams as well as the support the clubs require as they participate in both domestic and international competitions.
The meeting, which was attended by OFA chief Sheikh Salim Al Wahaibi and his fellow board members, saw the representatives of the clubs reach a consensus on most of the issues.
At the beginning of the meeting, the OFA chief Sheikh Salim Al Wahaibi delivered a speech in which he welcomed all the members ‘to the first general assembly after the board elections held on September 29 last year’, before declaring: “The Oman Football Association has cleared 35 percent of financial deficit, inherited from the previous board..., in less than six months. At present, the association is free of financial deficit.”
Sheikh Salim then concluded his speech by thanking His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, the patron of the youth march, for his support for the sports sector.
After the initial procedures, three members -- Adil Al Zerai of Masirah Club, Ahmad Al Busaidi of Fanja Club and Mohammed Al Shukaili from Al Ittifaq Club, were nominated to review the minutes of the meeting, which were later approved by the general assembly.
After reviewing the financial report of 2016 and the audited balance sheet, the budget for the current year was approved.
Fixed schedules
Later, club representatives stressed the need to have proper planning and strict regulations concerning the league matches.
Qriyat Club chief Khalid Al Ameer, speaking about the second division league, said the lack of strict regulations is leading to frequent changes in the fixtures and called for amendment of rules, for proper planning and a fixed schedule. The council accepted the recommendation and agreed to re-draft the rules and regulations.
Meanwhile, Al Nahda Club chief Salem Al Muzahmi, suggested that the Competitions Committee should chalk out clear plans and have fixed schedules with no scope for changes, barring some extreme cases.
Beach soccer team’s dues
Speaking about the national beach soccer team, Masirah Club’s Adil Al Zerai said that the national team returned home empty handed from AFC Beach Soccer Championship in Malaysia early this month.
“This is contrary to the team’s performances in the previous international competitions,” the official said.
For the record, Talib Hilal-coached Oman went to Malaysia as defending champions but failed to reach the semifinals after losing a crucial group match to Lebanon.
The OFA, on the other hand, said confirmed that the beach soccer team had not received their dues since 2014 while announcing the association will soon clear the dues, which is to the tune of OMR. 70,000.
Meanwhile, Saham Club chief Adil Al Farsi urged the council to support teams like Saham which are under pressure while taking part in both international and domestic matches.
It may be mentioned that Saham Club are currently taking part in the AFC Cup competition which led to the OFA making changes to domestic league schedule.
