Al-Hilal have taken a fresh step towards building an integrated sporting project, luring one of the most prominent administrative names in English football to strengthen their sporting structure. The club want to tap into major European expertise and lead themselves towards a new phase of competition at home and on the continent.
The board of directors of Al-Hilal Club Company, chaired by Prince Nawaf bin Saad, have completed the procedures to sign the Scot Richard Hughes as sporting director. Hughes has already arrived in the capital Riyadh and officially begun his duties, embarking on a new experience after years of administrative work within English football.
Read also: Born of suffering: can Fessing repeat the "Green Miracle" with Al-Ittihad?
Extensive experience in sporting management sits behind him. His most recent post was sporting director at Liverpool, which makes him one of the names with broad knowledge of how to build teams and manage the files of signings, recruitment and scouts. Those are the very aspects Al-Hilal are seeking to develop over the coming period.
Signing Hughes forms part of Al-Hilal's move towards an integrated sporting system that does not rely solely on landing stars. The plan is to set a long-term strategy to discover talent, select deals and develop the club's various teams, in a manner befitting the ambitions of "the Boss".
Al-Hilal also revealed the make-up of the sporting administration that will work alongside Hughes. It comprises the Englishman Simon Francis as technical director of football, the Scot Mark Birtchell as recruitment director, the Scot Craig Mackie as director of scouting, the Englishman Harry Arter as first technical scout, plus the Saudi Abdulhakim Al-Tuwaijri as technical director of the youth categories.
That line-up reflects a clear desire to build a specialised sporting administration that blends European expertise with national talent. The aim is to lay down more professional foundations for the work inside the club, and keep competing at the highest levels over the coming years.
Now that Hughes has officially taken up his duties, the former Liverpool sporting director begins a new challenge with Al-Hilal. Fans of "the Boss" expect his expertise to help create a project capable of writing a new chapter in the club's history.
You can discuss the topics and news in greater depth in the "Kooora" forums