Saudi football election set for Riyadh as final candidate list is published

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation has formally approved the final list of candidates for the presidency and membership of its board, with Bader bin Sulaiman bin Abdullah Al-Ruzaiza the only name standing for president.

The list was confirmed by the federation’s election committee after the completion of the appeals and grievances process, as well as the deadline for candidates to withdraw. No withdrawal requests were received before the deadline ended on Tuesday, 25 August.

The election will be held during an extraordinary general assembly meeting of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation in Riyadh on Sunday, 30 August.

Loay bin Omar bin Awad Mashabi is the sole candidate for the vice-presidency. The candidates for board membership are Lamia bint Ibrahim bin Abdullah Bahian, Fahad bin Adnan bin Abdulrahman Al-Mansour, Salman bin Metab bin Khalid Al-Sudairi, Thamer bin Abdullah bin Abdulkarim Al-Saadoun, Omar bin Abdulrahman bin Ali Al-Jreisi, Nicholas Arthur Coward and Gerard Bernard Rody.

The election committee had initially published a provisional list on 8 August. Candidates were then allowed to submit appeals and grievances to the Saudi Sports Arbitration Centre between 9 and 13 August.

The centre considered the objections received and issued its rulings. According to the information provided to the election committee by the Saudi Sports Arbitration Centre, the appeals were accepted in form but rejected on their substance.

Following the end of that process, the committee completed the remaining stages set out in the election timetable, which had been announced on 16 July. The withdrawal period closed on Tuesday without any candidate asking to leave the race.

The committee said its decision to approve the final list was based on its powers under Article 8 of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation’s election regulations. Paragraph five of that article gives the committee responsibility for approving the preliminary and final lists of candidates for the presidency and board membership after examining them and confirming that they meet all the regulations’ requirements.

Several other electoral lists had previously been rejected.

The second list, headed by Shaker Al-Osaimi, was excluded in its entirety because it did not fulfil the required conditions. The decision referred to Article 26.4, concerning endorsements, after the list submitted endorsements from organisations outside the clubs that form part of the general assembly. The committee also cited Article 33.2 of the federation’s statutes, relating to English-language requirements and the absence of experience.

A third list, led by Khaled Al-Ghamdi, was rejected after the committee ruled that his presidential candidacy did not meet the conditions under Article 33.2 of the statutes.

The same article was used to determine that Ahmed Al-Wadaei’s candidacy for president was incomplete, although the remaining members of his list were accepted. The list led by Fahad Al-Ghufaili was also rejected after his presidential nomination was ruled not to satisfy Article 33.2.

The committee likewise excluded the list headed by Hatem Khaimi on the grounds that his presidential candidacy did not meet the requirements of the same article.

The election follows Yasser Al-Misehal’s resignation as president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation after Saudi Arabia’s national team, known as “The Green”, were eliminated from the group stage of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The developments can also be discussed in greater depth on the Kooora forums.