AFC Vice President and FIFA Council member Saoud A Aziz M A Al Mohannadi
Doha: Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has joined the Asian football family in expressing his deepest condolences on the passing of AFC Vice President and FIFA Council member Saoud A Aziz M A Al Mohannadi.
A lifelong servant of the beautiful game in Asia and across the globe, Al Mohannadi was instrumental to the growth and progress of the AFC’s competitions. Most notably, he played an indispensable role in transforming the Confederation’s most prestigious men’s tournament – the AFC Asian Cup.
Under his leadership as the Chairperson of the Organising Committee of the AFC Asian Cup (OCAC), the AFC delivered its best-ever Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates in 2019, which broke all digital engagement and TV viewership records.
He also served as a member of the OCAC for the 2015 edition of Asia’s crown jewel in Australia and was the Chairperson of the AFC Competitions Committee from 2015 to 2019 before being elected as the AFC Vice President and FIFA Council member in 2019.
In an interview with the AFC Web Site, Shaikh Salman said: “Asian football has lost a true servant of the game, and few esteemed leaders have touched our lives and contributed to the development of football than our dearest brother Saoud Al Mohannadi.
“The AFC Asian Cup is undoubtedly one of the greatest success stories in global football in the last two decades and our dear brother Saoud was instrumental in elevating the standards of the tournament with each passing edition.
“On behalf of the Asian football family, I would like to convey our heartfelt condolences to the Qatari football community, the Qatar Football Association and the family and loved ones of Saoud Al Mohannadi,” added Shaikh Salman.
Al Mohannadi rose through the football administration ranks to become the General Secretary of 16-time Qatar Stars League and two-time AFC Champions League winners Al Sadd SC.
Shortly after, he was appointed as the Qatar Football Association (QFA)’s General Secretary in 2001, a position he held for more than a decade before being elevated to the Association’s Vice President in 2015, holding the position until the time of his passing.
He was also the Chief Executive Officer of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 Local Organising Committee and served as the United Arab Football Federation Vice President since 2021.
