A proposal for Alalshikh, the co-founder of boxing promoter Zuffa, to acquire a controlling interest in the Championship club has been with the football regulator since May.
An IFR spokesperson said the body has a legal duty to rigorously vet all prospective owners across the top five tiers of men’s football.
The review was completed in 55 days, within the 90-day statutory window.
Before the 2026–27 season, the IFR had reached a provisional decision to approve the takeover and informed all parties last week.
In every case, the regulator must assess a broad but fixed set of criteria laid out in law. This includes tests of financial stability, access to sufficient funds, the source of wealth, and honesty and integrity—covering checks on any criminal cases or convictions, civil litigation, and other regulatory inquiries.
The proposal drew criticism from human rights groups, including Amnesty International, which in June called it a defining test for the independent regulator.
Alalshikh, who chairs Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and is seen as close to the Kingdom’s de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman, has faced accusations of “sportswashing” from rights organizations.
Saudi Arabia has been accused of leveraging sport to burnish its global image while diverting attention from its human rights record, treatment of women, use of the death penalty, and anti-LGBT policies.
In addition to owning Egypt’s Pyramids FC in 2018–19, Alalshikh previously owned Spain’s Almeria, which he sold to a Saudi investment group last May.