Saudi Professional League has appointed former Nigeria international and Chelsea’s technical director, Michael Emenalo as their new director of football.
Emenalo has been tasked to lead the Saudi Pro League’s new Player Acquisition Centre of Excellence (PACE) and also assist with squad mapping and provision of a centralised transfer approach for the clubs.
His appointment follows the introduction of new regulations that will increase playing time for young Saudi Arabia players with reduction of age eligibility from 18 years to 16 years for the 2023-24 season.
To further encourage youth participation in sports, squad size has been reduced to 25 senior players with the reminaing 10 players to be under the age of 21, starting from the 2025-26 season.
The Saudi Pro League’s interim CEO and vice chairman, Saad Allazeez described Emenalo’s appointment as a perfect match for the league development in the coming years.
“Every club in the Saudi Pro League will get the opportunity to improve their squad through this innovative new model, and Michael is the perfect man for the job,” Allazeez said.
“He has the ideal pedigree, knowledge, experience, coaching qualifications, and contacts to drive value and success for the overall league through this ambitious project.”
Meanwhile, an excited Emenalo expressed his readiness to take on the challenge in the Middle East with a host of top players now considering the Saudi Pro League for the next phase of their football adventure.
“I believe this is a role that I’ve spent the last 45 years preparing for. It was not a difficult role or offer to accept. I am intrigued by the audacity of the project and the ambition,” he said.
“This project has been in the making for a while. It’s not a spur-of-the-moment decision, it’s well thought out. I’m impressed by the knowledge and input that’s gone into this. The Saudi Pro League offers a new opportunity first and foremost for the entire industry and I think will create avenues for good competition and for more development of young talent.”
The 57-year-old made 14 appearances for Nigeria between 1985 and 1995, and he was part of the country’s squad to the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States.
Emenalo recently worked as technical director for French Ligue 1 club Monaco between 2017 and 2019, after his six-year spell at Chelsea in the same role ended in 2017.
