Saad Al-Shehri

Saad Al-Shehri is a football manager and former player who coaches the under-23 Saudi Olympic Football Team. Al-Shehri coached the national team to victory over Uzbekistan in the semifinal of the U-23 AFC Championship when he deployed Nasser Al-Omran, who scored the goal that helped his side to qualify for the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo.

He said that Saudi Arabia deserved to return to its leading position in Asian football, and congratulated the Saudi government, its people, and the Saudi football team for this achievement.

It was Al-Shehri’s second achievement at a continental level, having coached the under-19 Saudi team to the game that qualified it for the Youth Olympics 2017.

He led the Green Falcons to the last eight of the 2018 Asian Games which included a famous win over a strong Chinese team in the second round and then a narrow loss to finalists Japan.

He has made his name as a coach by developing the skills of Saudi Arabia’s national teams for different age groups.

He has also distinguished himself at a local club level after leading Al-Ettifaq to fourth position in the 2017-2018 season. He has also coached other Saudi teams: Al-Qadisiyah, Al-Nassr, Al-Shabab and Al-Nahdha. Al-Shehri previously worked as a PE teacher, combining his passions for fitness and coaching. He played for Al-Ettifaq FC in the junior and youth grades, before he got upgraded to the first team, and won the Saudi Schools’ Championship with Al-Sharqiyah Educational team.