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Yasser Al-Misehal, president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation since 2019, stepped down on June 29 after the national team was eliminated from the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the group stage. The departure marks a dramatic fall from grace for a football program that has absorbed billions of dollars in investment and is set to host the 2034 tournament.
Al-Misehal had been re-elected in 2023 for a term that was supposed to run through 2027. He also held a seat on the FIFA Council, making this one of the higher-profile resignations in international football governance this decade.
A kingdom-sized bet that hasn’t paid off yet
Saudi Arabia’s football ambitions are inseparable from Vision 2030, the country’s sweeping economic diversification plan. The Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth vehicle, has poured billions into football infrastructure, player acquisitions, and league development. The Saudi Pro League became a global talking point when it lured some of the biggest names in world football with eye-watering contracts.
Hosting the 2034 World Cup, which Saudi Arabia secured without opposition, was supposed to be the crown jewel of that strategy. Then the national team went out in the group stage of the 2026 tournament. Domestic criticism was swift and unforgiving.
Fan tokens feel the tremors
Al-Nassr FC, one of the Saudi Pro League’s flagship clubs, operates the NASSR fan token, which gives holders governance rights and engagement perks. Saudi national team matches have previously moved fan token prices and prediction market activity.
It is also worth noting that despite Saudi Arabia’s growing interest in blockchain technology and digital innovation, the SAFF itself has not launched an official fan token. That gap is conspicuous given how aggressively other national federations and clubs have moved into the space.
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