Saudi football federation chief resigns

The head of the Saudi Football Federation Adel Ezzat resigned on Saturday, according to local media reports.

“I presented to (Saudi sports authority chief) Turki al-Sheikh… my resignation from my position as of today,” Ezzat told a Saudi channel.

“I will begin preparing… for elections of the Asian Football Confederation, which will be held next year,” he added.

The deputy head of the federation, Nawaf al-Timyat, has been appointed as the interim chief until fresh elections are held.

Last week, Ezzat was elected as the first president of the newly created South West Asian Football Federation (SWAFF), a regional group comprising 14 nations.

Ezzat said at the time: “Today is a landmark for football in the region as nations come together with a unified purpose to grow this great game from the grass roots up. It’s well documented that football is poised for significant growth across South and West Asia so we must harness the collective expertise and strengths of the member nations into a united force to seize this opportunity.

“SWAFF will help provide that focus, complementing the existing support provided by FIFA and the AFC,” he said.

He also highlighted the keen interest for the game in Saudi Arabia.

“In Saudi Arabia we are very passionate about our football. The sport unites us as a nation and it can connect us to our region and the world. If sport is a universal language then none is spoken more fluently than football,” he said.

“We want to work with our colleagues from across our region – from both South and West Asia – to grow the game we love. Football stands poised on the threshold of growth, SWAFF has been established as supporting infrastructure for this growth and Saudi Arabia will grow along with it.”

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