BY Nadia Ntiamoah
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dealt a blow to King Faisal Football Club in its legal tussle with the Ghana Football Association (GFA), dismissing the Kumasi-based club’s request for a stay of execution of decisions taken during the GFA’s Ordinary Congress held on August 12, 2025.
In an order dated October 1, 2025, the President of the CAS Appeals Arbitration Division, Corinne Schmidhauser, ruled that King Faisal’s application to suspend the enforcement of the Congress resolutions lacked sufficient grounds.
The ruling effectively means that the disputed resolutions remain valid and enforceable while the substantive case continues in Lausanne, Switzerland.
“The request for a stay of execution filed by King Faisal FC on 1 September 2025 in the matter CAS 2025/A/11757 King Faisal FC v. Ghana Football Association (GFA) is denied.
The costs of the present Order shall be determined in the final award or any other final disposition of this arbitration,” the ruling stated.
Background of the Dispute
King Faisal has been locked in a bitter standoff with the GFA following its August Congress, which the club insists was unconstitutional.
The club maintains that the GFA proceeded with the event despite being served with a notice of injunction from the courts, a move it considers a blatant disregard for due process.
Through its lawyers, Evans Adika Law, King Faisal has accused the GFA of several procedural and governance breaches, including:
Giving members an abridged notice period without securing their consent,
Failing to disclose conflicts of interest,
Improperly bundling unrelated issues for voting,
Denying calls for a poll after a show of hands,
And exerting undue influence over the decision-making process.
What King Faisal is Seeking
The Division One side is asking CAS to annul all resolutions passed at the August 12 Congress, which included key policy decisions and administrative reforms for the association.
The club is further seeking injunctions to stop the GFA from enforcing the resolutions and pressing for statutory reforms that would align the GFA’s operations with Ghanaian law.
For King Faisal, this case is not only about reversing the Congress outcomes but also about reshaping the governance structure of the country’s football body.
Implications of the CAS Ruling
The dismissal of the stay of execution application represents an early setback for King Faisal, as the GFA can now proceed to implement the contested Congress decisions while the main arbitration drags on.
However, the substantive case remains active before CAS, and a final award could either vindicate King Faisal’s claims or reinforce the GFA’s position.
Until then, the football community will closely watch proceedings in Switzerland, given the potential ramifications for sports governance in Ghana.
