Ahmed El Ghandour set to return to FIFA international referees list

Ahmed El Ghandour will return to the list of Egypt’s international referees for next season, while the Egyptian Football Association’s referees committee is willing to approve the appointment of foreign officials for any team prepared to cover the cost.

A senior Egyptian Football Association source told FilGoal.com that El Ghandour’s name would be included on the list submitted to FIFA.

“Ahmed El Ghandour returns to the international referees list, which will be sent to FIFA on 1 October,” the source said.

The source also confirmed that clubs would not face opposition if they requested overseas match officials, provided they paid the associated expenses.

“The referees committee does not object to appointing foreign referees for any team that will pay the financial cost,” the source added.

El Ghandour’s return comes after the Egyptian Football Association appointed Essam Abdel-Fattah as chairman of its referees committee. Abdel-Fattah replaced Colombian former referee Oscar Ruiz in the role.

The Egyptian Premier League is due to begin on 21 August.

The competition will feature 20 teams and will initially be played in a single round. Once that opening phase is complete, the teams will be divided into two groups according to their standings.

The top group will contain six teams, who will compete for the league title and for positions that qualify for African club competitions.

The remaining 14 teams will form the second group and will compete to avoid relegation. Four teams will be relegated at the end of the season, while three teams will be promoted from the division below.

As a result of that format, the 2027-28 season is scheduled to be played with 19 teams.

The Egyptian Football Association’s decision to include El Ghandour on the international list will be confirmed when the names are sent to FIFA in October. The new referees committee, now led by Abdel-Fattah, will also oversee arrangements surrounding requests for foreign officials during the domestic campaign.

Any club seeking to bring in overseas referees will therefore be responsible for meeting the financial cost of doing so, according to the federation source.