Danger Looms for Al Nassr, Al Ittihad and Al Ahli / AFC's Big Decision Against Ronaldo and Stars!

Saudi media reported new changes to Asian Football Confederation regulations that could affect the participation of Al Nassr, Al Ittihad and Al Ahli in continental competitions.

According to the report of "Varzesh Se", Saudi Akaz newspaper announced the addition of new clauses to the constitution of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Clauses according to which, from the 2027-2028 season onwards, clubs under the same ownership and control cannot participate in a joint competition.

This decision has put the situation of the three prominent Saudi football clubs, namely Al-Nasr, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahly, in the spotlight and raised new scenarios about how they will participate in continental competitions. According to this report, one of the upcoming possibilities is the quick transfer of ownership of these clubs to new owners. A similar thing happened to Al-Hilal.

According to Akaz's report, the new amendments are included in Article 8 of the Asian Football Confederation's regulations, and its purpose is to prevent any serious risk to the health and credibility of the competition. This article includes three clauses related to ownership, management and the level of influence of individuals and institutions in the clubs participating in a competition.

Article 8.4 states: If there is a risk of harming the health and credibility of the competition, ownership, membership, participation in the management or having authority and decision-making power in another club that participates in the same competition is prohibited.

Article 8.5: No natural or legal person can participate in the management, current affairs or sports performance of more than one club in a single competition.

Article 8.6: If there is a serious risk of harming the health and credibility of the competition, no natural or legal person can have control or influence over more than one club participating in the same competition.

The importance of these new regulations for Saudi football stems from the fact that Al-Nasr, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahly clubs are all owned by a single entity, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).

This issue can make the presence of these three clubs in the Asian competitions uncertain due to the new AFC regulations. Especially if their simultaneous presence in a competition is subject to restrictions related to joint ownership and single control.

Al-Hilal Club was previously in the same complex and was owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund. But after the "Kingdom Holding" company took over the ownership of this club, its ownership changed.