Sports Events to Comemorate Unification Day [Archives:1998/21/Sports]

Carnival in Sabeen Field Cross-country Race & Sport Shows
Celebrating the 8th anniversary of Yemen’s unification on 22 May, 1990, the Sabeen Field became the launch point for the cross-country race, which was organized by the Yemeni Athletics Federation in cooperation with the Sport for All Association and the Military Sport Association.
Spectators started gathering in the early morning. At 7,30 am sharp, the Minister of Youth and Sport, Dr. Abdulwahab Raweh and the Minister of Defense, Major Gen. Mohammed Dhaifallah declared the launch of the sport activities.
Skillful performances of taekwondo, judo, gymnastics, kung fu and traditional songs and dances were displayed.
At the end of the race, the ministers of Youth and Sport and Defense presented trophies to the winners in the cross-country race, in which more than 30 people took part. Winners were awarded in the categories of the 12-km race for adults, 6-km race for juniors and 4-km race for the older people.
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Wahda of Sanaa Wins Unity Cup
The Wahda football team of Sanaa has added a new triumph to winning this season’s Excellent-Division Tournament when its also won the Unity Cup. Held to celebrate the unification of Yemen on 22 May, the tournament included, along with the Wahda of Sanaa, the Shoula, the Shaab of Ibb and the Ahli of Sanaa.
The Wahda qualified for the final match when it defeated the Shaab 2-1 in both the first-leg and return matches. The Shoula of Aden defeated the Ahli of Sanaa 3-1 in the first-leg match, while, they had a no-score draw in the return match.
Final Match Description
The match was rather mediocre. Wahda had the upper hand during the first half, but its performance gradually regressed in the second half – leaving Shoula to control the game.
Wahda had lost many valuable opportunities through corner kicks. The only opportunity it was able to fully utilize came on the 34th minute of the match when the Wahda striker, Hani Abdulrahman kicked the ball with a mighty force and scored a right-corner goal.
Wahda’s attempts to score were the most powerful and threatening to Shoula, but almost all of them failed due to the skill and maneuver of the Shoula goalie, Khalid Atiq. The same was also true for the Shoula strikers, they failed throughout the first half of the game to pose a real threat to the goal of Wahda.
The first half was almost over, with the Wahda supremacy, when the Shoula striker, Fahmi Abdullah was impeded within the Wahda defense zone. The referee announced a penalty kick for Shoula. Performed by Shoula’s Mohammed Badi’, the penalty resulted in a goal, ending the first half with a one-score draw.
During the second half, on the other hand, the Wahda performance suffered a lot when Shoula intensified its strikes, posing a real danger. Wahda also lost many golden opportunities, concluding the official 90 minutes of the match with a 1-1 draw.
The referee announced a 5-minute extra time. Wahda’s striker, Al-Kholaidi was able to score a goal, ending the whole match with a 2-1 Wahda victory.
The awards were then presented by Dr. Abdulwahab Raweh, the Minister of Youth and Sport; Dr. Yahya Al-Shoaibi, the Minister of Education; Mr. Abdulqader Hilal, the Governor of Ibb; Mr. Sadiq Ameen Abu Rass, the Minister of Local Administration and Mr. Salim Ahmed Al-Jabali, the Minister of Agriculture.
1- The Wahda of Sanaa came first and carried home a financial prize of YR 275,000.
2- The Shoula of Aden came second and was awarded YR 175,000.
The Minister of Sport and the President of the Yemeni Football Federation then awarded the ‘Tournament Top Scorer’ title to Adel Al-Salimi of the Ahli team; while, the ‘Ideal Player’ title went to Abdulrahman Saeed. The Ahli of Sanaa was awarded the ‘Ideal Team’ title for getting the least number of cautions and player firing. The Wahda of Sanaa won the ‘Strongest Team’ title for scoring 54 goals
This tournament was a great gathering of excellent footballers and football fans to celebrate a national occasion that is very dear to the hearts of all Yemenis – the unification of the country on 22 May, 1990. That is why several ministers and other senior officials were at hand to watch the matches.

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