asablanca – May 17, 2025
In a landmark decision, the General Assembly of the Arab Aquatics Federation unanimously elected Khaled Mohsen Al-Khalifi of Yemen as President of the Federation for the 2025–2029 term. The election took place on Saturday in Casablanca, Morocco, with participation from representatives of 20 Arab national federations — the largest turnout in the federation's history. The vote was held with the endorsement of Husain Al-Musallam, President of World Aquatics, who attended via Zoom.

Al-Khalifi's election marks a significant achievement for Yemeni sports, given his long-standing contributions to swimming and athletics across the region. He currently serves as Deputy President of the Yemeni Olympic Committee and Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports.

Three Vice Presidents were also elected to represent different regions:

• Hamad Al-Ghareeb (Kuwait) – Gulf Region

• Khaled Kbiyan (Iraq) – Central Region

• Amir Abdeljawad (Egypt) – African Region

The newly formed Board of Directors includes:

• Abdullah Al-Wahaibi (UAE)

• Louay Tashkandi (Saudi Arabia)

• Fawaz Zalloum (Palestine)

• Andre Khoury (Jordan)

• Tareq Dhiyab (Sudan)

• Othman Al-Qaneen (Libya)

• Noureddine Zahafi (Algeria)

In a brief statement following the announcement, Al-Khalifi expressed his gratitude to the member federations for their trust, pledging to work closely with the board to elevate the standards of aquatic sports across the Arab world and strengthen support for national federations.