Saudi Arabian Football Federation

Saudi Arabian Football Federation
الاتحاد العربي السعودي لكرة القدم

Sport	Football
Jurisdiction	Saudi Arabia
Abbreviation	SAFF
Founded	1956
Affiliation	FIFA (1956) AFC (1972)[1] UAFA (1974) WAFF (2010) GFU
Headquarters	Riyadh
President	Ahmad Al Harbi
Vice president	Mohammad Al Nuwaiser
Official website
www.thesaff.com.sa

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (Arabic: الاتحاد العربي السعودي لكرة القدم‎‎) (SAFF) is the football governing body of Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1956,^[2] its responsibilities include administration of club competitions and national teams. The founder of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation is Abdullah Faisal Al Saud.

Controversies

During 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, the fixtures between Saudi Arabia and Palestine were switched after Saudi Arabia cited “exceptional conditions” for their inability to travel to the West Bank.^[3] The return fixture, originally to be played on 13 October 2015 at the Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium, Al-Ram, was later postponed due to Saudi Arabia's refusal to pass through Israeli-controlled borders,^[4] until the process of agreeing on the venue was concluded.^[5] The match was rescheduled to be played on 5 November 2015 in Palestine, after the Palestinian Football Association gave full security guarantees for the match.^[6] The match was later further delayed until 9 November, and to be changed to a neutral venue in Asia, as the Palestinian government confirmed that it could no longer guarantee the safety and security for the match.^[7] The neutral venue was announced to be Amman International Stadium in Amman, Jordan.^[8]

List of presidents of SAFF

The following is a list of presidents of Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) since its establishment.

• 1956 – 1971: Abdullah Faisal Al Saud
• 1971 – 1999: Faisal Fahd Al Saud
• 1999 – 2011: Sultan Fahd Al Saud
• 2011 – 2014: Nawaf Faisal Al Saud
• 2014 – 0000: Ahmad Eid Al Harbi

Domestic competitions

Leagues

• Saudi League - Premier Division
• Saudi League - First Division
• Saudi League - Second Division
• Saudi League - Third Division
• Prince Faisal bin Fahd League U-21
• Youth Premier Division League U-20
• Youth First Division League U-20
• Youngster Premier Division League U-17
• Youngster First Division League U-17

Cups

• King Cup
• Crown Prince Cup
• Saudi Super Cup
• Saudi Federation Cup for Youth U-20
• Saudi Federation Cup for Youngster U-17
• Saudi Federation Cup (defunct)
• Saudi Founder's Cup (defunct)

National teams

• Senior National Football Team
• National Football Team U-23
• Youth National Football Team U-20
• Youngster National Football Team U-17

References

1. "Arabia and Yemen are new members". The Straits Times. 28 July 1972.
2. "FIFA.com - Saudi Arabia on FIFA.com". fifa.com. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
3. "Palestine and Saudi Arabia agree to swap venues for World Cup qualifier". The National (UAE). 8 June 2015.
4. "World Cup 2018: Palestinians and Saudi Arabia at loggerheads over key game". CNN. 29 September 2015.
5. "FIFA statement on the Palestine-Saudi Arabia 2018 FIFA World Cup™ qualifier". FIFA.com. 7 October 2015.
6. "Palestine vs Saudi Arabia 2018 FIFA World Cup™ qualifier to be played on 5 November". FIFA.com. 21 October 2015.
7. "Palestine to play Saudi Arabia and Malaysia on neutral ground". FIFA.com. 4 November 2015.
8. "Amman the venue for Palestine qualifiers". FIFA.com. 5 November 2015.

External links

• Official site (Only Arabic Language)
• Saudi Arabia at AFC site
• Saudi Arabia at FIFA site