November 27 – Asian Cup 2027 bidders have announced record levels of public engagement for their ‘Play it Forward’ initiative, the first activation the #SaudiUnited campaign last week, designed to support the bid and promote the game in the country.
Play It Forward calls on Saudi football fans of all ages and abilities to showcase their skills and complete as many kick-ups as possible. Posts are uploaded to Instagram and Twitter.
The kick-off video for the initiative has already had more than 1.1 million views, and to date the campaign has reached over 124 million people on social media platforms, according to Saudi 2027 bid organisers.
Launched by the Saudi Minister of Sport, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Alfaisal, the campaign has participants have included Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) president Yasser Almisehal, and the country’s all-time leading goal scorer, Majed Abdullah.
“Our #SaudiUnited campaign is designed to unite football fans from every corner of the Kingdom regardless of which team they support, their age, gender, ability or background. Saudi Arabia has a long-standing, rich and successful football heritage and it so exciting to see our society come together like this under one goal. Together we can show Asia and the world the passion of our players and supporters, and how much our country has to offer to Asian football,” said Prince Abdulaziz.
SAFF launched their bid to host the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in September with ‘Forward for Asia’ as the bid slogan, setting out what the bid committee says is “the country’s ambition to provide a new experience, new exchange and new expansion for all of Asian football.”
SAFF president Almisehal said: “We are incredibly motivated by the overwhelming response and engagement of Saudi football fans who are showing their support with ‘Play it Forward’. Football is at the heart of Saudi Arabian culture, and it so important to us that our fans are involved in our bid to host the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. Having never hosted the Asian Cup, this is a unique opportunity for our country to showcase the Kingdom’s history, heritage and beautiful touristic destinations to visitors from across the Asian continent, and we are excited to see our #SaudiUnited fans come together as one to support this ambition.”
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