The Board of Directors of the Egyptian Football Association settled in an official statement today, Saturday, on the new head of the referees committee, following the departure of Oscar Ruiz in recent weeks.
The association confirmed in its statement that Essam Abdel Fattah has been appointed head of the referees committee for the upcoming sports season, after deciding to avoid seeking any foreign expert.
The association said: "Captain Essam Abdel Fattah has been appointed head of the referees committee for the 2027-202 sports season, with the committee's formation to be presented during the next board meeting."
Essam Abdel Fattah had previously chaired the Egyptian referees committee in two prior terms, the first from 2013 to 2016, and the second from 2021 to 2022.
The upcoming term will be the third for the former international referee as head of the referees committee at the Egyptian Football Association.
It is worth noting that the Football Association's decisions were not limited to the referees committee alone, but included several other decisions, most notably approving the Egyptian clubs participating in the African Champions League and the African Confederation Cup for the 2026-2027 sports season, with Zamalek Ramidez participating in the African Champions League, while Al Ahly and Zed participate in the African Confederation Cup.
This comes alongside the formation of a committee comprising Professor Khaled Al-Darandali, Professor Tarek Abu Al-Enein, and Captain Adah Al-Sherbini to determine the terms for renewing the contract with Captain Hossam Hassan, the head coach of the first Egyptian national team, with the committee to present its findings to Engineer Ni Abu Rida, the association president.
