RIYADH: The Saudi Pro League’s new director of football, Michael Emenalo, is excited at leading the SPL’s Player Acquisition Center of Excellence which aims to drive competitiveness, foster young talent alongside the best international players, and improve the governance of all clubs for long-term success.
Under Emenalo, the former Chelsea technical director, the new center will provide a centralized approach to transfers and ensure checks and balances in dealings on the international market, while providing management expertise.
Emenalo, best known for a successful 10-year stint at Stamford Bridge which saw the London club’s scouting, recruitment, development and loan systems transformed, said: “This is a role that I’ve spent the last 45 years of my life preparing for. It was not a difficult role or offer to accept. I am intrigued by the audacity of the project, and the ambition.
“Having also been in that situation where we had to develop things and take it to a level that was unexpected, and challenge the status quo, I think this project fits the bill of what I was looking for, in terms of expressing my creative content which I’ve built up over a number of years.”
"The world can't have enough good football & good competitions. That's our ambition."
New Director of Football Michael Emenalo outlines his vision for #SPLStrategy pic.twitter.com/5cuFc8EFQ3
— Roshn Saudi League (@SPL_EN) July 19, 2023
Emenalo insists Saudi is looking for the “opportunity to compete” and said: “What Saudi football is doing, is no different from what the Premier League have done. There was a time when it was all about Italy. There was a time when it was all about Spain. What we’re looking for in the industry is an opportunity to compete, and to compete on an even scale and to improve upon whatever exists in the industry.
“I think the Saudi League offers a new opportunity first and foremost for the entire industry, and I think it will create avenues for good competition and for more development of young talent.
“The world can’t have enough of good footballers, the world can’t have enough of good football, the world can’t have enough competition between rival clubs, between countries, between rival leagues. That’s the attraction and that’s the ambition behind this wonderful project.”
Emenalo added: “The strategic plan is to take the league and the performances on the pitch to a different level. That’s where I come in. For that to happen there are some basic essentials; good structural organizational hygiene, good recruitment, sensible budget planning, good training and performance on match days. And this is what I hope to help the clubs achieve.
“I think eventually that’s what we’re going to do and if we look at some of the players … there are no limitations. There are no exclusions. The idea is to make this league one of the best in the world, and to do that, you want the best players.
“Right now, we’re throwing out our nets as wide and as far as they can go, to make sure that we bring the best talent in the league.”
He said dialogue is important for the SPL and potential players as the league evolves. “I can understand the sensibilities to something that is so new and so audacious in its ambition. I can understand that it creates some doubt in some people’s mind.
“Footballers are not completely ignorant of what the industry is about. They recognize when something is happening and you have to have conversations with them. So (it is) not just the agent, you have to have conversations with the players and explain to them what the league is about.
“If a lot of them are making this decision, it’s not necessarily because of the economic side of the opportunity. It is also because they recognize that this is going to be something that defines their legacy. They have an opportunity to contribute to something special, and that’s what every footballer is looking for.
“They’re looking for a great competition and an opportunity to do something exceptional and special. And I think the league offers them that. This is why there is a spectacular interest from all around the world, and from players to join our league.”
Emenalo hailed the “knowledge” and thinking that has gone into the creation of the center and the new SPL strategy. “I’ve been working with people behind the scenes for some time. I’ve been auditing the project myself, to understand it. This project has been in the making a while. It is not a spur of the moment decision, it is well thought out. I’m impressed with the knowledge and the input that’s gone into this, and I think it’s a boost for our industry as a whole.”
