Sheikh Saud bin Abdulaziz Al-Mualla, Chairman of the Arab Chess Federation and Chairman of Sharjah Chess Club, confirmed that the Arab Union received official messages from the federations of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Sudan and Somalia, confirming the lack of recognition of the legitimacy of the "Red Sea Federation and the Gulf of Aden", which was announced through the media And with the participation of eight countries, including the unions that sent the Arab Union, they disavow this union.
He said in a press statement: “After the end of the Congress of the International Chess Federation, which was held in the capital Abu Dhabi in late February, several media outlets of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden announced to us the countries bordering the Red Sea, a declaration that was made without the legitimacy of this union. And without inviting its members to establish and without holding a general assembly to hold the elections, and it was announced that his posts would be distributed without referring to the unions or the personalities themselves, which was rejected by many Arab federations, especially since the new union does not take place under the umbrella of the Arab Olympic Committees Union or any other official organization » .
He added, "What happened is an illegal advertisement and there are no federations in any other sports game bearing this name."
The president of the Arab Chess Federation asked about the reason for establishing such a federation, which has no goals and is not subject to any Arab umbrella,
He noted: «The Arab Federation does all its activities to the fullest extent and all the Arab championships were organized in the past two seasons 2018 and 2019, and despite the circumstances of the world due to the Corona virus pandemic, however, Arab activities are continuing and the Arab Cities and Clubs Championship was organized on the first of last March in Tunisia, The first Arab Open Championship will be organized at the level of the Arab world (remote) next Thursday, with the participation of 2000 players and players from 21 Arab countries.
Sheikh Saud bin Abdulaziz Al-Mualla concluded by saying: “The slogan of the Arab Chess Federation since its foundation is (the Arabs are one nation), and therefore it is the official umbrella for the entire Arab world, which is what we always affirm and support for all the Arab member federations.”