Riyadh, September 2, 2026 – Kings League MENA has appointed Saudi sports and media executive Wael Al-Fayez as Managing Director, ahead of the competition’s return to Riyadh for an expanded Split 1, running from September 18 to October 30, 2026.
Al-Fayez becomes the first person to hold the Managing Director position at the regional venture. He will lead Kings League MENA’s regional business and operations, overseeing commercial strategy, key partnerships and operational growth across the Middle East and North Africa. He joins Kings League MENA from the Saudi Pro League, where he served as Chief Commercial Officer, and brings more than 20 years of leadership experience across sports, media, entertainment and technology.
Kings League MENA is a joint venture between SURJ Sports Investment – a PIF company – and Kings League, the global, creator-led football phenomenon founded by entrepreneur and former FC Barcelona and Spain defender Gerard Piqué. Split 1 will see the competition expand to ten teams, representing football markets and fan communities from across the Arab world, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar.
The new season builds on the success of the inaugural Kings Cup MENA in 2025, with more teams, more matches and some of the region’s biggest content creators, streamers and football personalities set to take part.
Wael Al-Fayez, Managing Director of Kings League MENA, said: “It is a huge privilege to take on this role at such an exciting moment for Kings League MENA. Football has an extraordinary place in the culture of this region, particularly among a young generation of fans who are also deeply connected to creators, gaming, streaming and digital entertainment. Kings League brings those worlds together in a completely new way. Building on the momentum we saw in 2025, our ambition for Split 1 is to take the experience to the next level. We are bringing together ten teams, leading creators and football personalities from across the Arab world, alongside strong partners who share our ambition to deliver an experience that is highly competitive and entertaining, but also distinctly relevant to this region and built around how a new generation wants to experience football.”
The new season will once again be staged at Cool Arena on Riyadh Boulevard, with the league phase kicking off on September 18 before progressing to the knockout stages and culminating in the Final Four on October 30, when two semi-finals and the Final will be played on the same day to crown the Split 1 champion. Fans will also be able to follow the league live across the MENA region through broadcast partner MBC Group, including MBC Action and Shahid, alongside free live streaming on platforms including Kick, YouTube and TikTok.
In 2025, the league made a strong regional debut with the Kings Cup MENA in Riyadh. Online ticket queues peaked at around 40,000 fans for an arena with approximately 1,300 seats, while the opening matchday attracted 2.2 million live streaming viewers – the most-watched opening matchday in Kings League history. Between July and December 2025, Kings League MENA generated 717 million social media impressions and 16.5 million engagements on social media.
Most recently, Kings League MENA announced the addition of two of Jordan’s biggest football stars, Yazan Al-Nemat and Ali Olwan, to the Split 1 line-up. The Jordan internationals have joined as co-presidents of 3BS and Red Zone respectively, alongside Team Presidents Absi and Maherco.
ABOUT KINGS LEAGUE MENA
Kings League MENA brings the global Kings League football phenomenon to the Middle East and North Africa, through a joint venture between Kings League and SURJ Sports Investment. The league unites teams, creators and fans from across the Arab world – including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Morocco, alongside Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar – presided over by some of the region’s biggest content creators and streamers. Following the sold-out success of the Kings Cup MENA in 2025, Kings League MENA will return to Riyadh’s Cool Arena for Split 1 in September-October 2026.
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