Childhood and Education

Walid Sadi was born on 25 November 1979 in the commune of Hassani Abdelkrim, located in the El Oued province in southern Algeria. During his childhood, he left his hometown and settled in Sétif, in the eastern part of the country, due to the commercial activities in which his family was involved.^[1] He grew up in an affluent family that owns the Sadi Group,^[2] a company specializing in construction and public works. He obtained his baccalaureate degree in management and economics in 1997.

FAF President

At the end of July 2021, he announced his candidacy for the presidency after the end of Kheïreddine Zetchi's term.^[3] However, he ultimately decided to withdraw, and Charaf Eddine Amara won as the sole candidate.^[4]

Almost a year later, in April 2022, following Charaf Eddine Amara's resignation after Algeria's failure to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar, Walid Sadi expressed his desire to succeed as the president of the FAF. However, he did not present himself as a candidate, and Djahid Zefizef won the election against Abdelhakim Serrar.

In July 2023, Djahid Zefizef decided to resign from his position before the end of his term, following his defeat in the CAF executive committee elections. Zefizef's defeat generated significant criticism against him, ultimately leading to his resignation. In this context, Walid Sadi decided to present himself as a candidate, accompanied by two others: Abdelkrim Medouar, president of the Professional Football League (LFP), and Meziane Ighil, former coach and international player. However, the applications of all three participants were rejected, including that of Walid Sadi, reportedly due to the absence of a university diploma. Sadi responded to this refusal and confirmed that his application was in compliance.

The election commission granted a new deadline for the candidates to review their applications. Once the deadline expired, only Walid Sadi's candidacy was retained. On 21 September, he became the newly elected president of the FAF. He was then received by President Abdelmajid Tebboune and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

On 26 September, the same day as his official installation as president and on the eve of the announcement of the host countries for the 2025 and 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, the FAF decided to cancel Algeria's candidacy to host both tournaments. The justification for this decision was motivated by "the FAF's new approach regarding the football development strategy in Algeria."

In early October, during the first meeting of the FAF's federal board chaired by Walid Sadi as the new president, the board decided to remove Abdelkrim Medouar from his position as president and suspend the Professional Football League (LFP) for "violations of laws and regulations in force".