Neom Club aiming to develop Saudi football players for 2030 and 2034 world cups and beyond

 

Neom SC makes significant progress in grooming Saudi football talent

Neom sporting director Kyriakos Dourekas says the club’s long-term ambition is to develop a generation of Saudi players capable of forming the backbone of the national team at the 2030 and 2034 World Cups.

The ambitious project, which began after Al-Suqoor Club was rebranded as Neom in June 2023, has made significant progress in just three years. The club has established itself in the Saudi Pro League and recently recorded a landmark victory over Al-Hilal, ending the league champions’ 47-match unbeaten run.

Neom followed that result with a 4-2 victory over Al-Fateh, moving into the league’s top five ahead of the first international break of the season.

Despite the early success, Dourekas says the club’s priorities extend beyond short-term results. Neom is placing particular emphasis on developing young Saudi players and creating opportunities for them to become established first-team players.

“Of course, for us it was a big win,” Dourekas told Arab News. “But the best thing for us in the match was that we had five Saudi starters.”

 

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He added: “We are not a team with the fan base of the top clubs in Saudi Arabia, so we have the luxury of fielding Saudi — and young Saudi — players in our starting lineup.”

Focus on Saudi talent

Saudi Pro League regulations allow clubs to field up to eight foreign players in their starting lineups. Neom, however, have pursued a recruitment strategy that has given several Saudi players significant first-team responsibilities.

Among them is midfielder Alaa Al-Hejji, who impressed last season and subsequently earned a place in Saudi Arabia’s World Cup squad. Other Saudi players who have featured prominently include Abdulmalik Al-Oyayri, left-back Islam Hawsawi, former USL Dunkerque winger Muhannad Al-Saad and summer signing Khalil Al-Absi.

Neom’s focus on youth also extends to its overseas recruitment. Although experienced forwards Alexandre Lacazette and Said Benrahma provide leadership, the club has one of the youngest squads in the Saudi Pro League this season.

Two of the club’s foreign players, Amadou Kone and Nathan Zeze, joined Neom at the age of 20 and have since established themselves as regular starters. Their performances have reportedly attracted interest from larger clubs.

Building a sustainable club

Dourekas said Neom’s approach has been influenced by changes in football ownership and club management in Europe, where a growing number of investors have increasingly viewed football clubs as businesses requiring sustainable financial models.

He pointed to the financial difficulties experienced by several historic European clubs as an example of the risks associated with unsustainable spending.

“Many of these clubs went into debt,” Dourekas said. “Some are not even playing in the professional leagues anymore, like Bordeaux.”

He said the emergence of American ownership in European football had contributed to a greater emphasis on financial sustainability and player investment.

“For the past seven or eight years, you started to see a lot of Americans owning clubs in Europe,” he said. “They see football as more of a business.”

According to Dourekas, investing in younger players can provide clubs with both sporting and financial benefits.

“If you sign many 29- or 30-year-old players, you are not going to make your money back,” he said. “Our goal is to make the club sustainable, which is why we invest in young foreign and Saudi players.”

 

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Dourekas also cited research from the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), saying Neom currently give the highest proportion of playing time in the Saudi Pro League to players aged under 21.

Looking beyond 2030

Neom’s immediate sporting ambitions include competing for a high league position and potentially challenging for the Gulf Club Champions League. But Dourekas believes the club’s most important contribution could come through its impact on Saudi football over the next decade.

“We want to contribute to the Saudi football ecosystem,” he said.

Reflecting on the national team’s future, Dourekas said Saudi Arabia would need to develop a new generation of players as the current generation ages.

“You saw what happened at the World Cup — there were many players who were quite old and will not be there in 2030 or 2034,” he said.

“That is our main target right now: to ensure that most of the players representing the Saudi national team in 2030 and 2034 have come from Neom,” Dourekas added.

“They do not necessarily have to be playing for the club at the time — but to have started from Neom or passed through the academy or the first team: that should be the main target.”

The strategy represents a long-term vision for Neom, with the club seeking to combine competitive ambitions with the development of Saudi talent. Its success will ultimately be measured not only by trophies and league positions, but also by the number of players it develops who go on to represent Saudi Arabia at the highest level.

Source: Arab News