Court of Arbitration for Sport throws out King Faisal FC request for a stay of Execution against GFA third term

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (the “CAS”) has today, October 1, 2025, thrown out the request for a stay of execution filed by King Faisal FC on 1 September 2025 in the matter of King Faisal FC v. Ghana Football Association (GFA) against the other reliefs the Third Term decision of the GFA Congress.

CAS in its decision further stated that the costs of the present order shall be determined in the final award or any other final disposition of this arbitration.

King Faisal FC (the “Appellant”) had filed a Statement of Appeal with CAS against the GFA with respect to various decisions adopted by the GFA Annual General (GFA Congress) meeting on 12 August 2025.

Riding on the back of its Statement of Appeal, King Faisal FC requested a stay of execution of the Appealed Decisions.

In a Decision delivered by Mrs. Corinne Schmidhauser, the President of the CAS Appeals Arbitration Division, CAS made it very clear that “When deciding whether to award preliminary relief, the President of the Division or the Panel, as the case may be, shall consider whether the relief is necessary to protect the applicant from irreparable harm, the likelihood of success on the merits of the claim, and whether the interests of the Applicant outweigh those of the Respondent(s)”.

CAS considered and concluded that: That the Appellant has not even alleged, let alone establish, that any of the three cumulative conditions required under Article R37(5) of the Code are fulfilled, namely: (a) a risk of irreparable harm should the request for a stay of execution be dismissed; (b) the likelihood of success on the merits of its appeal; and (c) that its interests in obtaining the requested stay of execution outweigh those of the Respondent; CONSIDERING that in light of the above and without prejudice to the jurisdiction of the CAS to entertain this appeal, the request for a stay of execution filed on 1 September 2025 must be dismissed.

The Decisions taken by respected GFA Congress came into effect on August 12, 2025 (the day they were taken at Prampram) and continue to remain effective.