Jose Mourinho joins Saudi Arabia’s Mahd Sports Academy as board member

Veteran football manager Jose Mourinho has joined the board of directors of Saudi Arabia’s Mahd Sports Academy after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the board’s appointments, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Monday.

The Crown Prince approved the appointments for a duration of three years where Saudi Minister of Sports Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Faisal will chair the academy’s board of directors, SPA said. The Ministries of Finance and Education will be represented in the board as per the approval, the report added.

In addition to Mourinho, board members will include Saudi Ambassador to the US Princess Reema bint Bandar, former soccer player Ioan Lupescu, Abdulaziz Ahmad Baeshen and Dr. Maha bint Ahmed Al-Juffali.

The academy seeks to discover and develop new sports talents with the aim of creating a new generation of champions.

The announcement comes as the Kingdom’s sport scene has been garnering much global attention due to the government’s efforts. The football scene in particular has witnessed many changes over the past months with the Saudi Pro League attracting many high-profile players.

After the announcement was made, Prince Abdulaziz expressed his gratitude to King Salman and MBS over the appointments where he “commended the leadership’s support to the sports sector and emphasized the board’s dedication to achieving significant advancements in talent identification across various sports.”

He underscored that “these efforts aim to cultivate a new generation of athletes that will represent the Kingdom in both continental and international tournaments.”