Al Ahli hand temporary manager Rui Santos final pre-season test before 2026-27 campaign

Al Ahli will face Al-Ettifaq on Wednesday in their final friendly before the 2026-27 Saudi football season, with the club still without a permanent head coach following Matthias Jaissle’s resignation.

The Saudi club announced the fixture on Tuesday through its official account on X. The match will be played under the supervision of Portuguese coach Rui Santos, who has taken temporary charge while Al Ahli search for a successor to Jaissle.

Jaissle resigned from his position last Thursday to take responsibility for English club Newcastle United. Al Ahli have not yet reached an agreement with a new permanent manager.

The meeting with Al-Ettifaq has been arranged to replace a friendly against Abha, which had been scheduled for Thursday. That match was cancelled after the Saudi league fixtures placed the two sides together in the second round of the domestic competition on 22 August.

Wednesday’s fixture will be Al Ahli’s seventh pre-season game ahead of the new campaign. The club played six matches during a training camp in Austria and Portugal last month, recording only one victory.

That win came against Austrian side Salfelden, with Al Ahli claiming an 8-0 success. They also suffered three defeats, losing to Germany’s Holstein Kiel and Portuguese clubs Vitoria Guimaraes and Portimonense.

The remaining two matches ended in draws. Al Ahli drew with Portuguese side Rio Ave and English Premier League club Fulham, with both games producing goals.

The club’s competitive season begins on 13 August, when Al Ahli meet Al-Diriyah in the opening round of the Saudi Pro League.

Al Ahli are aiming to win the Saudi league title for the first time since 2016. They will also seek to retain the AFC Champions League Elite crown, having won the competition in each of the past two seasons.

The absence of a permanent head coach means Rui Santos will oversee the final stage of preparations before the campaign begins. The Al-Ettifaq match will therefore provide the team with its last opportunity to build momentum and assess its readiness for the opening league fixture, while the club continues its search for the manager who will lead the side for the rest of the season.