Ben Harburg: Pioneering owner plotting new era at Al Kholood | OneFootball

This summer, Al Kholood created history by becoming the first foreign-owned club in the Roshn Saudi League following the acquisition by the Harburg Group.

The United States-based enterprise already boast a promising track record given the success they've achieved in Spain with Cadiz CF, both on and off the pitch.

Considering this milestone moment for football in the Kingdom, we recently sat down with Ben Harburg, Chairman of Harburg Group, to discuss the decision to invest in Al Kholood, the club’s path forward and the importance of connecting with fans – not only in Saudi, but around the world.

And it feels even more pertinent this week, since Al Kholood will host their first home match since the takeover, as the Ar Rass outfit to build on last season’s superb ninth-placed finish upon RSL debut.

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On choosing Al Kholood

"First and foremost, we really love the region where it's based. Al Qassim is a region where everywhere you go in the country you meet people from there.

"There's a huge amount of affluence, a great diaspora, a lot of growth, it’s ery central to the country, so easy for us to pop around. We have many clubs in our near vicinity that we're travelling towards.

"It's also a club that has a relatively fresh experience - we like that. We liked that it's a smaller fan base, newer to the league. So that gave us the ability be very experimental. If we took over a really big club with huge amount of fan expectations and tradition it’d be a lot harder to adapt the club.

"And thinking differently about how we build our academy, how we build our brand, how we present ourselves to players. And this club offers us that more flexible infrastructure to build."

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On primary goals

"First and foremost, we need to establish ourselves in this league and that's going to be a fight for survival. So, Day 1 objective is stay where we are, don't go down.

"After that, what we're trying to build is one of the best clubs at our budget and tier within the table that has the best infrastructure, best coaching, nutrition, sports science, data sciences.

"So that means for global as well as domestic players, they want to come to play for us. They know that we're going to make them better players, we're going to train them.

"And there's almost going to be an Al Kholood brand, the way there's a Red Bull brand or other really important, global multi-club groups where players from that group are known as a branded commodity and something that is really valuable and desired by their clubs.

"Because, ultimately, the only way we're going to compete with the big boys here is by being a talent factory."

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On investing in youth

"We've got to produce young Saudi talent that can be sold into Al Ittihad, Al Ettifaq and others. We've got to develop a youth system that trains our academy and brings people in, not just domestically, but from around the world.

"And we've got to be able to attract a player that doesn't come to us because we necessarily pay the highest salary, but because we treat them with a high degree of international standard, professionalism, training equipment, infrastructure.

"And we think we can achieve that, and that will enable us to ultimately in the long-term compete in a real dynamic and challenging league."

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On club's Captain Marvel

"To have someone like William [Troost-Ekong] on my team is a dream come true. And more importantly, because he's a tremendous human being.

"He's a great leader, he's very mature, he's seen everything, he's played everywhere and, as a club, with the instability and challenge that we're facing at this handover, is absolutely essential to that.

Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong has a massive role to play at Al Kholood

"So, we certainly spend more talking with him than most and asking him - which he's doing - to play this role as a ballast, to stabilise us and balance us during a really challenging time.

"That's the No.1 thing he provides today, is that maturity and leadership in the locker room. In the future, we're excited to find ways to activate him and engage with his fans in Nigeria and around the world."

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On engaging the fan base

"What we found is a huge number - and you see it in the comments we get online of having never experienced the club and reached out to them - we brought them into their element and asked for their opinion, met with them, broke bread with them.

"We didn't do this to be ground breakers or to create some new precedent. We assumed that this was standard operating procedure.

"I love to meet our fans... virtually as well as physically. And so, it's been a fantastic experience interacting with them. And what's really gratifying is we're getting people saying things online like, ‘I'm a diehard Al Hilal fan, but now you're my No.2 club’.

"Or people are saying, ‘Because of the way you're treating your fans and engaging with them, I've been converted to being one of your fans’. So that's the most we could ask.

"This is going to be an incredibly challenging year. We are going to do everything we can to reach out to you in your element, to bring you into the club, to make you feel valued.

"We need you far more than any other big boys need you. It's really easy today to be a fan of Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Ittihad or Al Ahli, but it's fun and hard to be a fan of our club.

"Just because your parents, your friends, and your family were supporting the big boys or other clubs for years, doesn't mean you don't have the choice to choose us. And we would be honoured if you choose us. We desperately need you.

"We will be the club that reaches out to you, engages with you, asks your opinion, adjusts our course to meet your needs, finds a way to make a very inclusive - both virtual and physical - community.

"We need your support, your patience, your love and, of course, your physical presence in the stadium more than ever. And I hope you'll join us on this journey."

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