IN A DIFFERENT life, Ahmed Al-Ghamdi might currently be listening intently to a lecture or spending late nights poring over journals in a library in Vancouver. He had been accepted to the ...

Sheikh Ahmed al-Ghamdi was formerly the head of religious police in Mecca. He's no stranger to controversy: He's said previously that women can wear makeup.

Ahmed Al-Ghamdi's career as a professional footballer began in the Canadian Premier League with Pacific FC, whose Starlight Stadium homeground has a humble capacity of 6,000 -- a far cry from his ...