Al Hilal turn to Richard Hughes to shape long-term football strategy

Al Hilal have appointed former Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes as part of an ambitious plan to establish a more integrated football structure at the Saudi Arabian club.

The Scottish executive has arrived in Riyadh and formally begun work after the board of Al Hilal Club Company, chaired by Prince Nawaf bin Saad, completed the appointment process.

Hughes takes charge of the sporting department following several years working in football administration in England. His most recent position was sporting director at Liverpool, where he was involved in the development of the club’s squad-building strategy and recruitment operations.

Al Hilal hope his experience will help them strengthen the way the club identifies players, manages transfers and operates its scouting network. The appointment is part of a wider attempt to create a sustainable football project rather than relying solely on signing established high-profile players.

The club’s stated aim is to introduce a long-term strategy covering talent discovery, recruitment decisions and the development of its various teams. That approach is intended to support Al Hilal’s ambitions in domestic and continental competition.

Hughes will work alongside a newly announced sporting administration team that combines European experience with Saudi expertise.

The structure includes Englishman Simon Francis as technical director of football and Scottish former player Mark Burchill as director of recruitment. Another Scot, Craig Mackie, has been appointed director of scouting, while Englishman Harry Arter will serve as senior technical scout.

Saudi national Abdulhakim Al-Tuwaijri completes the group as technical director of the club’s youth categories.

The appointments underline Al Hilal’s intention to establish a specialist football operation with clearly defined responsibilities across recruitment, scouting, first-team football and youth development. The club believes the mixture of international experience and local knowledge can provide a more professional foundation for its work in the coming years.

Hughes’ arrival begins a new challenge for the former Liverpool sporting director, who is now expected to help shape the next stage of Al Hilal’s development. Supporters will hope his experience can contribute to a project capable of creating a new chapter in the club’s history.

Al Hilal are one of the leading clubs in Saudi football and have set their sights on continuing to compete at the highest level domestically and across the continent. The new sporting structure is intended to support those ambitions through a broader system covering recruitment, scouting and the progression of young players.