The president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, Yasser Al-Misehal, announced his resignation late on Sunday, hours after the national team’s goalless draw with Cape Verde confirmed a group-stage exit from the 2026 World Cup. In a statement posted on social media, Al-Misehal said the failure to reach the knockout rounds “is a result that falls short of all our ambitions” and that he bore “full responsibility”, apologising to fans who had hoped for a better showing. He added that he would not serve out the remainder of his term and would initiate the process for new elections.

The Saudis had opened their campaign with a creditable 1-1 draw against Uruguay, but a 4-0 defeat by Spain in the second match left them needing to beat Cape Verde to advance. Instead, a sterile stalemate in the final group game sent the island nation through as runners-up and consigned Saudi Arabia to last place in Group H with two points. The team’s preparations had been disrupted by a coaching change less than two months before the tournament, when Hervé Renard was replaced by Georgios Donis.

Al-Misehal had led the federation since 2019, a period in which Saudi Arabia won the right to host the 2034 World Cup and pumped enormous sums into the domestic game. Clubs signed global stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema, while the kingdom staged the Spanish and Italian Super Cups, the 2023 Club World Cup and other high-profile events. Yet the national team has now failed to survive the group stage in three consecutive World Cup appearances, its only knockout-round advance remaining the 1994 tournament in the United States. Arab media described the early exit as a “catastrophe”, while analysts in the Gulf noted the jarring contrast between off-field investment and on-field results.

The resignation triggers a leadership contest at a delicate moment. Saudi Arabia is due to host the AFC Asian Cup in early 2027 and the Gulf Cup later that same year, with the 2034 World Cup looming as the ultimate test of its footballing ambitions. The next federation president will inherit a programme rich in resources but under acute pressure to translate infrastructure and star power into competitive success on the pitch.