The race for the presidency of the Saudi Football Federation officially kicked off on Wednesday, with the start of accepting candidate applications by the election committee, and will continue until August 1, according to the election timeline announced last Thursday.

Bader Al-Ruziza, the leading candidate for the presidency of the Saudi Football Federation (Asharq Al-Awsat)

So far, Bader Al-Ruziza's list has been officially announced, along with Ahmed Al-Wadai and Dawoud Al-Muqrin, while awaiting the duo Hatem Khimi and Muaidh Al-Shahri.

Bader Al-Ruziza had announced on July 17 his official candidacy for the presidency of the Saudi Football Federation's Board of Directors, becoming the first to officially enter the election race, days after resigning as president of Al-Qadsiah Club on the 12th of the same month.

Al-Ruziza's list has not been officially revealed, but reports indicate strong names on the list. Behind the scenes, there is significant movement to win the votes of the General Assembly members and gauge their orientations, as has happened in the past few days.

As for candidate Muaidh Al-Shahri, he has not yet officially announced his candidacy for the race.

However, Asharq Al-Awsat sources revealed on July 14 his move after years of sequential work in Football Federation committees and various memberships. Al-Shahri is considered one of the strongest competing names if he completes the upcoming candidacy step.

Al-Shahri is one of the names with administrative experience within the Saudi Football Federation; he previously chaired the 'Players' Status Committee' from 2019 to 2020, served as Deputy Head of the 'Professionalism Committee' between 2017 and 2019, then took over as General Supervisor of the Department of Match Observers and Coordinators since 2020, in addition to over 13 years of sports administrative experience in the 'Football Federation'.

Hatem Khimi (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Al-Shahri will make a change to his list after recent developments involving one of the key members, Ali Al-Zahrani, president of Qalwah Club, following a disciplinary penalty of a three-year suspension. However, Al-Zahrani will continue his legal course to pursue his rights through the Appeals Committee.

According to sources, Muhammad Al-Khalifa, former president of Al-Kholood Club, apologized for remaining in candidate Hatem Khimi's list, and will be the closest name to join Al-Shahri's list as a replacement for Ali Al-Zahrani.

Al-Shahri has intensified his communication with officials of several clubs in recent days, as part of mobilizing support and building his electoral list before the race officially begins. According to what Asharq Al-Awsat published on July 14, Al-Shahri, who has built a wide network of relationships with clubs over the past years, enjoys significant support from a number of clubs. Sources in his list confirmed that he currently has the backing of about 30 out of 49 votes representing members of the 'General Assembly of the Saudi Football Federation'.

Al-Shahri's list, according to private sources so far, includes Munaf Abu Shaqir, former Al-Ittihad player; Nabil Naqshbandi, former TV commentator and current technical analyst; Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, former executive director of Al-Nassr Club; along with Ahmed Al-Sheikhi, a sports law specialist; in addition to two names that have not yet been identified.

Muaidh Al-Shahri (Asharq Al-Awsat)

As for candidate Hatem Khimi, he has not yet officially announced his candidacy or list. However, Asharq Al-Awsat published, according to its sources, that the list so far includes Abdulaziz Al-Ruwaili, Vice President of Al-Orobah Club; Abdulaziz Al-Anqari, former president of Al-Ahli Club; Dr. Khaled Abu Rashid, a sports law specialist; Hassan Al-Yami, former Al-Ittihad and Najran player; Saud Al-Hamali, captain of the Saudi youth national team that won the 1989 U-17 World Cup; Dr. Abdullah Al-Naim, marketing and investment specialist; along with a Swiss member whose identity has not been revealed, specializing in marketing and strategies.

Candidate Ahmed Al-Wadai had officially announced his candidacy and revealed his list, which included former international player Abdul Rahman Al-Roumi, former player Mohammed Al-Suwailem, Abdullah Al-Mussand who worked in various administrative roles, in addition to Suleiman Al-Suqair, Mohammed Al-Shahri, Abdul Latif Al-Asiri, and Samer Al-Sayel.

Candidate Dawoud Al-Muqrin had announced his list earlier, which included Saleh Abu Nakhai who worked for many years at Damac Club, most recently as club president; former international referee Abdullah Al-Qahtani; Fahad Al-Qaheez; Fahad Al-Laheeb; Harbi Al-Zahrani; Sati Al-Otaibi; in addition to Aisha Al-Ghamdi, before Saleh Abu Nakhai announced his withdrawal from the list.

Al-Muqrin's list officially entered the race (Asharq Al-Awsat)

It has not yet been determined whether Abu Nakhai will join another list such as Muaidh Al-Shahri, Bader Al-Ruziza, or Hatem Khimi, or whether he will not participate in the elections with any of the candidates.

Al-Wadai had previously contested elections in 2016 when he ran for the position of Vice President of the Football Federation. He was excluded by the election committee before being reinstated after his appeal was accepted, but he received only one vote compared to 30 for Yasser Al-Mishal, six for Mohammed Al-Dosari, and five for Mohammed Al-Thunayan. At that time, candidacies were by individuals, not lists.

According to the election committee's announcement, candidates can submit their applications from Wednesday until August 1, with the committee starting to review the candidate lists from August 2 to August 7.

The sports community hopes that the anticipated changes in the Football Federation will positively reflect on the Saudi national team (Saudi National Team)

The preliminary candidate lists will be announced on August 8, while the Sports Arbitration Center will receive appeals and complaints regarding the lists from August 9 to 13, with rulings to be issued from August 15 to 23, and the results of the appeals will be announced on August 24.

Tuesday, August 25, is the last day for candidate withdrawals, while the final candidate lists will be announced on August 26. Election campaigns will launch the following day and continue until August 29. The elections will be held during the extraordinary general assembly meeting of the Saudi Football Federation on August 30, 2026.