Gareth Southgate will travel to Saudi Arabia and watch Jordan Henderson play for Al-Ettifaq amid fury from fans and campaigners following England call-up
- Gareth Southgate will travel to Saudi Arabia to watch Jordan Henderson play
- The move will be controversial with fans and campaigners for LGBTQ+ rights
- Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport's podcast 'It's All Kicking Off!'
Gareth Southgate will be travelling to Saudi Arabia to watch Jordan Henderson play for Al-Ettifaq in the Saudi Pro League in the coming weeks, a trip which in itself will be controversial with fans and campaigners still angry with the England player who has been an advocate for the lesbian and gay community.
The England manager will travel as part of checking up on Henderson, who is in his squad for the upcoming games against Australia and Italy, with Southgate aware that the Saudi Pro League doesn’t offer the same quality as the leading European leagues.
Southgate said: ‘His physical data is fine. The games are not at the same intensity as the games here. The heat is part of that. There are two or three drinks breaks per game, which is an indication of the climate, and that his having an impact on how teams play. It is a situation that we are tracking closely. I will go out and watch games.
‘We will get to his games the same way we get everybody else’s. That’s a longer trip and in these first couple of months we’ve felt it more important to see as many games live as we can, as quickly as possible, by getting around our country more.
'But as time moves on, we’ll get to more of the Milans, the Madrids and the Bayern Munichs, as well as out to see Hendo.’
![Gareth Southgate will travel to Saudi Arabia to watch Jordan Henderson play for his club side](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/07/23/76288809-12606275-image-a-65_1696717438761.jpg)
Gareth Southgate will travel to Saudi Arabia to watch Jordan Henderson play for his club side
![Henderson's move to Al-Ettifaq was met with opposition by fans and gay rights campaigners](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/08/00/76288823-12606275-Henderson_s_move_to_Al_Ettifaq_was_met_with_opposition_by_fans_a-a-87_1696722372944.jpg)
Henderson's move to Al-Ettifaq was met with opposition by fans and gay rights campaigners
Henderson invited yet more fury from campaigners and fans, given the Kingdom’s human rights abuses, by tweeting in support of Saudi Arabia 2034 World Cup last week.
Henderson had previously said that he had no contractual obligation to speak up for the Saudi nation, but with FIFA on verge of awarding the 2034 tournament to the Gulf state, Henderson was filmed on X (formerly known as Twitter), saying ‘Go Saudi Arabia 2034!’