Skip to main content
International Arbitration Forum

Al Merreikh Sport Club v. Khartoum Local Football Association, Sudan Football Association (SFA)

Case summary

At a glance

Parties
Al Merrikh Sport Club (Sudan) v. Khartoum Local Football Association (KLFA) and Sudan Football Association (SFA)
Case no.
CAS 2022/A/9325
Forum and rules
Court of Arbitration for Sport, appeals procedure under the CAS Code (2022 edition)
Treaty
None. Jurisdiction rests on Articles 60–61 of the KLFA Statutes, Article R47 of the CAS Code and the signed Order of Procedure
Tribunal
Jacques Radoux (Sole Arbitrator)
Sector
Football; club governance; youth competition
Outcome
Appeal declared inadmissible in its entirety (award of 25 April 2023).
Amount
The Appellant claimed CHF 10,000 in legal fees from the Respondents. The published award redacts the costs rulings.

The dispute

Al Merrikh, a professional club in Omdurman, had a long-running dispute over who was its legitimate president. On 4 September 2021 two rival general assemblies elected two different boards: one chaired by Adam Abdallah Adam, the other by Hazim Mustafa. In November 2022 the KLFA received two applications to enter the club's youth team in its Youth League. One was signed by Adam Abdallah Adam and the other by Ayman Mubarak Alkhiddir, each as club president. The SFA did not answer the KLFA's question about who legitimately represented the club, and on 28 November 2022 the KLFA excluded the youth team from the 2022/2023 season. The club appealed to CAS. It asked CAS to confirm Adam Abdallah Adam as president, to admit the application he had signed, and to annul several SFA acts concerning the club's electoral committee, its elections and its general manager. The SFA argued that these issues had already been dealt with in earlier CAS awards, did not concern the appealed decision, and that it had no role in the KLFA competition. The KLFA filed no Answer.

Key holdings

  1. CAS has jurisdiction under Articles 60 and 61 of the KLFA Statutes. Sudan has no national sports arbitration tribunal, and the parties confirmed jurisdiction by signing the Order of Procedure. The appeal was filed on time within the 21-day limit of Article R49 of the CAS Code. ¶¶ 55–64
  2. Under Article R57 the Panel reviews the case de novo, but it cannot go beyond the matter in dispute before the previous instance. The KLFA decided only to exclude the youth team. It took no decision on who was the club's president. ¶¶ 65–66
  3. Several requests fall outside the scope of the appeal and are inadmissible: confirmation of Adam Abdallah Adam as president, an order that the SFA tell the KLFA so, and annulment of SFA acts on the electoral committee chaired by Ali Al Baloula, on the election of 30 December 2022 and on recognising Haitham Mohamed Nour as general manager. These requests target alleged SFA acts, not the KLFA decision under appeal. ¶¶ 67–70
  4. An appellant must have a current legal interest both when it files the appeal and when the award is made. The request to admit the youth team's application lacked that interest. The club did not seek retroactive admission, the first part of the League ended on 14 January 2023, and the club may still enter the second part. The decision has exhausted its effects and is unlikely to recur. ¶¶ 71–73
  5. The request to reject the application signed by Ayman Mubarak is also inadmissible for lack of legal interest. The KLFA had already rejected that application, and no one alleged that it had been appealed. The appeal is therefore inadmissible in its entirety. ¶¶ 74–75; operative part

Procedural history

  1. 10 June 2022CAS awards in CAS 2021/A/8413 and CAS 2021/A/8488 annul the SFA Board decision of 16 September 2021 and the SFA Electoral Appeal Committee decision of 10 November 2021.
  2. 28 November 2022The KLFA Board excludes the Al Merrikh youth team from the 2022/2023 Youth League.
  3. 5 December 2022Statement of Appeal filed, with a request for a stay and provisional measures.
  4. 30 December 2022The President of the CAS Appeals Arbitration Division dismisses the request for a stay and provisional measures.
  5. 23 January 2023The SFA files its Answer. The KLFA files none.
  6. 15 February 2023The parties are informed that Jacques Radoux has been appointed Sole Arbitrator.
  7. 30 March 2023Hearing held by videoconference.
  8. 25 April 2023Award: the appeal is inadmissible.

Tribunal, counsel and experts

Decided by
For the claimant
Mudathir Osman
For the respondent
Khartoum Local Football Association · Sudan Football Association (internal legal consultant)

Run a conflict check on these names →

Keywords

Summary generated with AI from the published documents — refer to the award for the authoritative text.

Case ID
CAS 2022/A/9325
Country
Claimant
Al Merreikh Sport Club
Respondent
Khartoum Local Football Association, Sudan Football Association (SFA)
Documents

Procedure: Appeal
Sport: Football
Matter: Governance
Outcome: Inadmissible
Panel: Jacques Radoux
Source: Court of Arbitration for Sport case database.