What Is the First Sport Championship Attended by King Abdulaziz?

The first sport championship attended by King Abdulaziz was a football match between Ittihad Dhahran team and the Somali select team, held on January 25, 1947. The match took place in Dhahran City and was the final for the James MacPherson Cup "then Vice President of Aramco Company." During the match, King Abdulaziz presented the cup and prizes to the winning team.

This match was part of an inspection visit by King Abdulaziz to Aramco Company in Dhahran, accompanied by a number of Their Royal Highnesses the princes, in addition to a number of officials. This match between Ittihad Dhahran team and the Somali select team is the only match attended by King Abdulaziz in Saudi football, and it is the first royal cup in the history of Saudi football.

King Abdulaziz arrived at the stadium at 4:35 p.m., and after the players of both teams stepped forward to greet him, the match began at 4:50 p.m. and ended with the Somali select team winning two to one over Ittihad Dhahran. The match lasted sixty minutes only. The Somali select team went ahead with two goals (first in the second minute and another in the twenty-eighth minute), then Ittihad Dhahran reduced the score by scoring a single goal in the fifty-eighth minute by player Hamid Obeidli. At the end of the match, King Abdulaziz honored the winning team with the cup, while player Hamid Obeidli was honored with the Best Player Cup during the match, thus making Hamid Obeidli the first Saudi player to receive a cup from King Abdulaziz, and the only one.