Hani Abou-Reida resigned from his post as the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) vice president, citing “the haphazard management of football affairs in the country”.

The FIFA executive committee member said on Tuesday that he could no longer bear the way by which the EFA, which is under fire for a series of controversial decisions, runs football.

“The situation is really bad, and the current decisions the EFA take are affected by that. That’s why I decided to hand in my resignation,” said Abou-Reida, a highly respected figure in Egyptian football.

“EFA chairman Samir Zaher tried to persuade me to change my mind but my decision to leave is final. I hope they accept my resignation.”

The EFA came in for fierce criticism lately after cancelling relegation in the Egyptian Premier League. They ruled that bottom trio Ittihad, Smouha and Arab Contractors would not be relegated, and decided to expand the Premier League to 20 teams instead of 16.

However, they are struggling to introduce a formula by which the twentieth team would be chosen. A mini three-team league failed to do so after Tersana, Aswan and Mansoura finished level on points.

It remains to be seen whether next season’s Premier League would feature 19 or 20 teams.

"I'm not satisfied with the way the EFA is managing football, although I respect all their members," Abou-Reida added.

Abou-Reida has been a member of FIFA’s powerful yet controversial 24-man executive committee since February 2009.

He voted for Qatar in their bid to become the 2022 World Cup hosts. The tiny Gulf country was eventually granted the right to stage the football’s most important event after beating off competition from Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United States.