RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's Football Federation (SAFF) appointed women to the board for the first time in the Kingdom's history on Wednesday, and also named a new president.

The two women are Adwa Al-Arifi and Reham Al-Onaizan and the new president is Qusay Bin Abdulaziz Al-Fawaz.

Saudi authorities said Al-Fawaz was the sole candidate who met all conditions for a post left empty after Adel Ezzat resigned on Aug. 19 to run for the presidency of the Asian Football Confederation.

Al-Arifi was, Saudi media has reported, appointed in February as "the first woman committee member" in the history of SAFF. She was part of a seven-member corporate social responsibility committee, and holds a degree in business administration.

Al-Onaizan's Linkedin page says she was "corporate performance and initiative management Senior Manager at the (Saudi) General Entertainment Authority'.

Qusay al-Fawaz is close to the head of Saudi Arabia's general authority for sports head Turki Al-Sheikh.

Al-Fawaz has served as president of the Saudi Chess Federation and was a member of the team that oversaw Saudi Arabia's participation in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The Kingdom is in the middle of a major push for global influence in football governance. — AFP