(Reuters) -American investor Ben Harburg has a plan to reshape Al-Kholood into the Brentford or Brighton & Hove Albion of the Saudi Pro League as he bids to turn them into a stable, mid-tier team modelled on two of the English Premier League's shrewdest operators.
Al-Kholood, promoted to the top flight ahead of the 2024-25 season, became the first Saudi club acquired by a foreign buyer in July, as Harburg, co-owner of Spain’s Cadiz, saw it as the right model for investment.
"The club has a very short history and is a new participant in Saudi football. Most Saudis had never heard of it, which meant we could build it from scratch in our own way," Harburg told Reuters in a Zoom interview.
Harburg views Al-Kholood's limited fan base and lack of legacy as advantages that reduce external pressures. While the club has advanced to the quarter-finals of the Saudi King's Cup for the first time this season, the immediate goal remains avoiding relegation.
The club, which was founded in 1970 in the city of Al-Rass, are currently 10th in the 18-team table after eight matches.
"If five years from now you call us the Brentford or Brighton of Saudi Arabia, we've done our job," Harburg said.
"The smarter decision is for us to kind of stay near the middle of the league. So don't get relegated, but don't overspend trying to outspend the big (clubs)."
MONEYBALL IN AL-RASS
Harburg's vision emphasises a data-driven approach to talent acquisition, inspired by the Oakland Athletics' 'Moneyball' model in Major League Baseball, combining statistical analysis with efficient decision-making.
"Data is essential for making decisions around players. But it's not just the data. It's knowing how to use it. It's knowing how to have a streamlined decision-making process," Harburg said.
Al-Kholood's signings include Argentine striker Ramiro Enrique from Orlando City, English midfielder John Buckley from Blackburn Rovers, and Saudi winger Abdulaziz Al-Aliwa from Al-Nassr.
The strategy is to nurture players' development then capitalise on future transfers to reinvest in the squad.
"We want to be the Red Bull of the region, where every player that comes out of... our academy or our talent identification is clearly of the highest quality," he added.
Harburg believes Saudi football is entering a "third stage", what he calls "true privatisation", leaving behind earlier phases of marquee player signings at prices exceeding their value and state-backed club acquisitions.
"I think the days of Saudi overpaying for players are coming to an end," Harburg said.
To oversee the project, Al-Kholood have appointed English coach Des Buckingham, who has worked a lot with young players. Buckingham's prior roles include leading New Zealand's age-group teams and managing clubs including Melbourne City, Mumbai City and Oxford United.
"The thing we liked most about him was he had previously coached at Mumbai City, which is again, a bit similar to our dynamic," said Harburg.
(Reporting by Mohamed Yossry in Cairo, editing by Toby Davis)
