Khaled Fahad Al-Atwi (Arabic: خالد العطوي; born 13 April 1977) is a Saudi Arabian professional footballmanager and former player who was most recently the head coach of Al-Qadsiah.[2][3]
Al-Atwi began his coaching career in the youth teams of Al-Oyoon in 2008. He then became the assistant manager of Al-Fateh's youth team before rejoining Al-Oyoon to become the first team manager in 2009. In 2011, Al-Atwi was appointed as the first team manager of Al-Nojoom. In his 5 seasons at the club, Al-Atwi led Al-Nojoom to promotion to the Second Division and the First Division[4] respectively. On June 14 2016, Al-Atwi was appointed as the manager of the Saudi Arabia U20 national team.[5] He led the young falcons to a first-place finish in the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship and was also the manager during the disastrous 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup where Saudi Arabia exited from the group stage with a crushing defeat. By doing so, Al-Atwi became the youngest Saudi manager to lead the national team to continental glory.[6] On 17 June 2019, Al-Atwi resigned from his post as the manager of the U20 national team after 3 years.[7] Later that day, he was announced as the manager of Pro League club Al-Ettifaq.[8] On 14 October 2021, it was announced that Al-Atwi and Al-Ettifaq agreed to end their contract mutually and he would take charge of his last match on 16 October against Al-Ahli.[9]
On 18 June 2022, it was announced that Al-Atwi was appointed as the new manager of First Division League side Al-Qadsiah.[10] On 22 September 2022, Al-Atwi was sacked after 5 matches, he drew twice and lost three times.[11]
Personal life
Al-Atwi was born in Dammam but moved to Al-Oyoon, located in the Al-Ahsa Governorate, during his childhood. He is married and has four sons; Fahad, Saud, Mohammed, and Sattam. Al-Atwi graduated from King Faisal University and has a bachelor's degree in sociology. He used to work as a history teacher in a school in Urayrah. He later became a principal of a school in Al Kulabiyah.[1]
