The Saudi Arabian Football Federation has approved its 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 final list was published by the election committee for the sixth term of the federation’s board after the completion of the appeals and grievances process and the expiry of the deadline for candidates to withdraw.
Louay bin Omar bin Awad Mashabi is the sole candidate for vice-president, while seven candidates are contesting the available board membership positions.
They are Lamia bint Ibrahim bin Abdullah Bahaian, Fahad bin Adnan bin Abdulrahman Al-Mansour, Salman bin Meteb bin Khalid Al-Sudairi, Thamer bin Abdullah bin Abdulkarim Al-Saadoun, Omar bin Abdulrahman bin Ali Al-Juraisy, Nicholas Arthur Coward and Gerard Bernard Rudy.
The Saudi FA said the final list had been approved in line with the election timetable announced on 16 July.
An initial list of candidates was released on 8 August, followed by a period for appeals and grievances from 9 to 13 August. Those challenges were considered by the Saudi Sports Arbitration Centre, which issued its rulings.
According to information provided by the arbitration centre, the appeals were accepted in form but rejected on substance.
The election committee confirmed that the deadline for withdrawals ended on Tuesday, 25 August, and that it had received no requests from candidates wishing to withdraw.
Its decision was based on the powers granted to the committee under Article 8 of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation’s election regulations. Article 8, paragraph five, states that the committee is responsible for “approving the preliminary and final lists of candidates for the presidency and membership of the board of directors after studying them and ensuring that they meet all the conditions stipulated in these regulations”.
The extraordinary general assembly of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation is scheduled to take place in Riyadh on Sunday, 30 August.
Several candidates and election lists were eliminated earlier in the process.
The second electoral list, headed by Shaker Al-Osaimi, was disqualified in its entirety after the committee found that it did not meet the required conditions. The decision referred to Article 26, paragraph four, concerning endorsements, because endorsements had been submitted by individuals outside the clubs that are members of the general assembly. It also cited Article 33, paragraph two, of the federation’s statutes, relating to English-language requirements and a lack of experience.
The third list, led by Khaled Al-Ghamdi, was also rejected after his presidential candidacy was deemed not to satisfy Article 33, paragraph two, of the statutes.
Ahmed Al-Wadaei was additionally excluded after the committee ruled that his bid for the presidency did not meet the same provision, although the remaining members of his list were accepted.
The list headed by Fahad Al-Ghafili was rejected because his presidential candidacy was judged not to comply with Article 33, paragraph two. The same reason was given for the exclusion of Hatem Khaimi’s list after his candidacy for president was deemed incomplete under that article.
The election follows the resignation of Yasser Al-Misehal as president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation. He stepped down after Saudi Arabia, known as “the Green”, were eliminated from the 2026 World Cup in the group stage. The tournament is being held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
