RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Football Federation (SAFF) appointed women to the board for the first time in the kingdom’s history on Wednesday, and also named a new president.
The two women are Adwa Al Arifi and Reham Al Onaizan and the new president is Qusay Bin Abdulaziz Al Fawaz.
Saudi authorities said Al Fawaz was the sole candidate who met all conditions for a post left empty after Adel Ezzat resigned on August 19 to run for the presidency of the Asian Football Confederation.
Al Arifi was, Saudi media has reported, appointed in February as “the first woman committee member” in the history of SAFF. She was part of a seven-member corporate social responsibility committee, and holds a degree in business administration.
Al Onaizan’s Linkedin page says she was “corporate performance and initiative management Senior Manager at the (Saudi) General Entertainment Authority’.
Qusay Al Fawaz has served as president of the Saudi Chess Federation and was a member of the team that oversaw Saudi Arabia’s participation in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
