Former Al-Raed coach Yuriy Benyo told us what it was like for him to work in the Saudi Arabian championship.
- The Saudis surprised me as people. They are really very sincere, open, hospitable. They are very similar to Ukrainians. They know that there is a war going on in Ukraine. They seem to take a neutral position, but when you tell them about the war, they sympathize with our country.
They will help you everywhere. Saudi Arabia is a very safe country. There is virtually no crime there. The country has very strict laws. Plus, they are very religious people, all orthodox Muslims. Stealing and killing is a big sin there. Plus, they have very punitive laws. That is why there is virtually no crime there. Plus, it's a non-alcoholic country. And you know how most crimes are created.
It's so safe here that you can leave your car unlocked and with the keys in the ignition because it's so hot. No one will even think of stealing it. You can even leave it there with all the documents and no one will take anything.
The country is developing now. They have started to invest a lot in infrastructure and development, and probably want to open the country to the world through football. I think that they want to make it independent of oil, and they are relying on tourism.
They have extraordinary conditions there, better than in the UAE and Egypt, because they have the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and mountains. There is untouched nature there because the country was closed for a long time. All these corals in the Red Sea are preserved. They would earn more from tourism than from oil. I think they are moving towards this. They are actively building airports, roads, and entertainment centers.
The country remains semi-closed. Most women wear hijabs. In large cities like Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al-Dammam, they are already dressing more openly. There are more foreigners there. And we lived in Buraydah, where it's hard for women," Benyo said.