DAMMAM: For the sixth time in two weeks, a Saudi Pro League match has been postponed as a result of attacks targeting airports in Saudi Arabia.

“The Saudi Professional League has decided to postpone the match between Al-Ahli and Al-Khaleej, part of the 11th round of the Roshn Saudi League — originally scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 22 — with a new date to be determined at a later time,” read an Al-Ahli statement released on Thursday afternoon.

The prominent Saudi sports show Rotana Sport with Waleed first reported the news at 1:08 a.m., confirming that Al-Khaleej’s delegation had not left the airport. The General Authority of Civil Aviation confirmed around the same time that King Fahd International Airport in Dammam was targeted by an attack on Wednesday evening, which left two people dead and eight injured.

The Saudi Professional League later announced on Thursday that the match had been rescheduled, with the new date set for the following evening:

“The Saudi Pro League decided to postpone the match between Al-Ahli and Al-Khaleej, part of the 11th round of the Roshn Saudi League, due to logistical considerations. Under the decision, the match will take place on Friday, Oct. 23, at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium in Jeddah at 9 p.m.”

“In setting the new date, the league took into account the minimum rest periods between matches, as well as the operational and organizational requirements of staging the fixture. The change is part of the regulatory procedures approved for managing the competition’s schedule, which consider the various factors related to fixtures and team requirements.”

Several matches have been postponed in the last fortnight because of the recent attacks:

  • Matchday 8: Abha vs. Al-Faisaly

  • Matchday 9: Al-Ahli vs. Al-Nassr, Al-Riyadh vs. Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad vs. Al-Shabab

  • Matchday 10: Abha vs. Al-Kholood

For now, the rest of the round’s fixtures remain unaffected. Matchday 11 kicks off on Thursday with matches in Qassim and Al-Hasa, as Al-Hazem host Al-Fayha at 4:40 p.m. and Al-Fateh host Al-Shabab at 5:45 p.m.