CAS Case Digest · Verified against the full award text

CAS 2024/A/10836 — Al Nasr Club v. Amash Mohamed Al Daihani et al.

"Al Nasr Club" · CAS set aside an NSAT award that had ordered handover of a Kuwaiti football club to its Electoral Committee, holding the prior Board's continuation in office was lawful.

What happened in Al Nasr Club

Al Nasr Club, a Kuwaiti professional football club, became embroiled in a governance dispute following the annulment of its 12 January 2023 Board elections by the National Sports Arbitration Tribunal (NSAT) on 30 October 2023. The NSAT's Award of 30 October 2023 declared those elections invalid and ordered restoration of the pre-election situation. The outgoing Second Board, led by President Khaled Chrida (who had also led the First Board), effected a handover on 26 December 2023 back to the First Board, also represented by Chrida. New elections were then held on 15 February 2024, producing a Third Board. A group of Club members challenged the handover and subsequent elections before the NSAT. On 12 August 2024, the NSAT's Appealed Decision invalidated the handover, declared all Board and Executive Office meetings under Chrida void, and ordered the Club handed to Electoral Committee Chairman Mr Nasser to organise an Extraordinary General Assembly under Article 20 of the Articles of Association. Al Nasr Club appealed to CAS. The Panel held that: (1) the appeal was admissible despite two NSAT claimants not being named as respondents; (2) no res judicata barred the Appealed Decision; but (3) the Appealed Decision misapplied the Articles of Association — Article 20 applies only to Board dissolution scenarios, not to post-annulment re-elections, which require only a new Ordinary General Assembly under Article 16. The handover was therefore valid, and points 3 and 4 of the Appealed Decision were set aside.

Procedural history of CAS 2024/A/10836

On 18 January 2023, two Club members filed NSAT Case 2023-1 challenging the 12 January 2023 Board elections. On 30 October 2023, the NSAT declared those elections invalid (Award of 30 October 2023). Further NSAT proceedings followed: NSAT Case 2023-2 (filed 20 November 2023, decided 7 April 2024 — upholding the handover and the 15 February 2024 elections); NSAT Case 2024-1 (filed 23 January 2024); NSAT Case 2024-2 (filed 12 February 2024); and NSAT Case 2024-3 (filed 2 May 2024). The latter three were joined and decided by the NSAT on 12 August 2024 (the Appealed Decision), which invalidated the handover and ordered the Club transferred to Mr Nasser. A Kuwait Court Decision of 12 May 2024 had upheld the handover, but an appeal to the Court of Cassation was pending. Al Nasr Club filed its CAS Statement of Appeal on 29 August 2024 under Article R47 of the CAS Code, seeking annulment of the Appealed Decision. The hearing was held on 20 February 2025 in Dubai.

Key holdings in CAS 2024/A/10836

• The failure to name Mr Mishal Hijab Al Mutairi and Mr Bandar Rifaa Al Mutairi as respondents did not render the appeal inadmissible, because Mr Hijab Al Mutairi formally waived his right to participate and Mr Bandar Rifaa Al Mutairi's claim was directed against Mr Nasser rather than the Club.
• The Appealed Decision did not violate any res judicata force of the Award of 7 April 2024 because the parties to the Joined Cases were not the same as the parties to NSAT Case 2023-2.
• The Appealed Decision did not violate any res judicata force of the Court Decision because an appeal against it was still pending before the Court of Cassation of Kuwait and not all parties were identical.
• Article 20 of the Articles of Association applies only to specific dissolution scenarios (Board dissolution, termination of most or all Board members' membership, or acceptance of their resignation) and not to the situation arising from the annulment of elections held at the end of an ordinary four-year term.
• Where elections are annulled after the expiry of a Board's ordinary term, the prior Board remains in office until a new Ordinary General Assembly is convened under Article 16 to elect a successor Board, and no Extraordinary General Assembly or Special Committee under Article 20 is required.

How the CAS panel reasoned

The Panel first addressed admissibility, finding that Mr Hijab Al Mutairi's written waiver of participation cured the failure to name him as respondent, and that Mr Bandar Rifaa Al Mutairi's claim was directed solely against Mr Nasser and would not be affected by the Panel's decision. On res judicata, the Panel applied common conditions — final judgment, same parties, same cause of action — and found both the Award of 7 April 2024 and the Court Decision failed to satisfy the identity-of-parties requirement; additionally, the Court Decision was not final given the pending cassation appeal. On the merits, the Panel interpreted the Articles of Association structurally, distinguishing between the Periodic Ordinary General Assembly procedure (Article 16, triggered by the end of a four-year term) and the Extraordinary General Assembly procedure (Article 20, triggered by dissolution or resignation of the Board). The Panel reasoned that the 12 January 2023 Election was called because the First Board's term had expired, and its annulment simply required a fresh Ordinary General Assembly — not the Article 20 dissolution pathway. The Panel drew support from the non-binding but persuasive reasoning of the Award of 7 April 2024 and the Court Decision, both of which confirmed that the Articles of Association contain no specific provision for Board continuation in emergencies and that customary practice allows an outgoing Board to remain until new elections are held. The NSAT's contrary reading in the Appealed Decision was therefore rejected as an incorrect application of the Articles of Association.

Why Al Nasr Club matters in CAS jurisprudence

This award clarifies the boundary between Article 16 (Periodic Ordinary General Assembly for routine end-of-term elections) and Article 20 (Extraordinary General Assembly for Board dissolution scenarios) in a sports club's Articles of Association. It establishes that annulment of elections held at the end of an ordinary Board term does not trigger the dissolution pathway requiring a Special Committee; instead, the outgoing Board continues in office pending fresh ordinary elections. The award also provides CAS guidance on the admissibility of appeals where a party to first-instance proceedings has formally waived participation, and confirms that a pending cassation appeal prevents a lower court decision from acquiring res judicata effect.

Cases cited in this award

SFT 4A_508/2013 (27 May 2014)

Frequently asked questions about Al Nasr Club

Why did CAS set aside the NSAT's August 2024 decision in the Al Nasr Club case?

CAS found that the NSAT misapplied the Club's Articles of Association by invoking Article 20 — which governs Board dissolution scenarios — when the situation actually called for a new Ordinary General Assembly under Article 16. Because the 12 January 2023 elections were annulled after the First Board's ordinary four-year term had already expired, the correct remedy was simply to hold fresh ordinary elections, not to appoint a Special Committee via an Extraordinary General Assembly. As a result, Points 3 and 4 of the NSAT's Appealed Decision were set aside.

Did the Al Nasr Club appeal fail because two NSAT claimants were not named as CAS respondents?

No. The Panel held the appeal admissible despite the omission of Mr Mishal Hijab Al Mutairi and Mr Bandar Rifaa Al Mutairi. Mr Hijab Al Mutairi had filed a written statement officially renouncing his right to participate and declaring he had no further interest in the dispute, which the Panel treated as a waiver. Mr Bandar Rifaa Al Mutairi's NSAT claim had been directed solely against Mr Nasser rather than the Club, so any CAS decision on the Club's appeal would not affect his position.

Did the Award of 7 April 2024 and the Kuwait Court Decision of 12 May 2024 create res judicata binding the NSAT in the Al Nasr Club joined cases?

No. The Panel found that the Award of 7 April 2024 lacked the required identity of parties because the claimants in NSAT Case 2023-2 (Mr Saad Al Dhafiri, Mr Fahd Al Salman, Mr Youssef Shuraida Al Adwani, Mr Eid Abdullah Al Mutairi, Mr Nasser Al Marri) were none of the parties to the Joined Cases. The Court Decision equally failed the res judicata test because an appeal against it was still pending before the Court of Cassation of Kuwait, meaning it was not yet final, and not all parties were identical.

What does the Al Nasr Club CAS award say about a Board continuing in office after its term expires pending new elections?

The Panel held, drawing on both the Award of 7 April 2024 and the Kuwait Court Decision as persuasive authority, that the Articles of Association contain no specific provision for Board continuation in emergencies after the end of the electoral cycle, and that the applicable principle is that the Board remains in office until the emergency is resolved and a new Board is elected. The Panel confirmed that it is customary for an outgoing Board to exercise its powers until the next Ordinary General Assembly elects a successor, meaning the First Board's continuation after the annulment of the 12 January 2023 elections was lawful.

Topics: Art. 17 RSTP & contract termination at CAS

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