INTERVIEW: Fouad El Fdil

Fouad El Fdil’s appointment as the sporting director of Al-Gharafa in November last year was a remarkable bit of news. Not only was he the first full-time sporting director for a QSL club, he was also not a Qatari and it was rare for non-Qataris to occupy management roles at clubs here. It was a visionary step, especially considering Fouad’s exceptional resume and vast experience in coaching and scouting, with the Dutch football association, Aspire Academy and the Saudi national talent development programme. He was qualified, and knew the region well.

The decision also had the potential to be a gamechanger in terms of how clubs were run here, perhaps helping to accelerate the journey towards true professional standards. Yet, just around eight months later, just days after being given the additional responsibility of CEO, Fouad announced his resignation, citing “differences in vision” with the club.

At QFootLive, we followed Fouad’s work with a lot of interest and we were disappointed to see him go. When presented with the the opportunity to discuss his experience at Al Gharafa with him, we grabbed it. Fouad explained his role at the club, his vision, his thoughts on improving the level of football in Qatar, and a lot more.

Your appointment at Al Gharafa represented a lot of ambition and enthusiasm. Why did you resign after 8 months?

Our project was to build a sustainable model for the club that could be an example for all clubs in Qatar. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out the way we had in mind because in reality, we faced many problems in the daily work. One example is the very slow decision-making process. At the end, I came to the conclusion that my vision on how to develop the club didn’t match with the way the club was managing it.

Fouad’s responsibilities at Al Gharafa combined both footballing and admininstrative roles

I do believe that Al Gharafa has big potential but it’s all about taking the right decisions and steps to push the club forward.

What was exactly your role?

From one side, I was responsible for the complete football part and from the other side, I had to manage the administration as well. It was a big task for one person but I’ve really enjoyed my work. With the technical, medical, administrative staff and players, I had a close collaboration and good relationship. It’s all about managing people from a clear vision and strategy.

As a Sporting Director, you need to give the head coach space to do his work but at the same time you need to make sure that we are working on our long-term club objectives. In the beginning I felt that many colleagues didn’t understand my role but once we started to work together, they understoond and experienced the fact that I came to help them and make things actually easier for them. Every serious club needs a full time Sporting Director. It’s impossible to run a club with only part-time staff in management without the required education, knowledge and football/sports experience.

What’s your opinion about the new coach and players of Al Gharafa?

To be completely honest: my advice was to recruit the Dutch coach Marcel Keizer who was doing a great job at Al Jazira (UAE). With the youngest squad — and not even all foreigners were available – they won the title with good football and a good offensive & defensive organization. Marcel was open to discuss this option but I didn’t find enough internal support for this decision. I was surprised to see Mehdi Tahrat signing because I was expecting a left (footed) centre back. They already have some young, talented right centre backs like Abdullah Sirelkhatem.

Fouad believes a better scouting system is vital for Al Gharafa to improve

In the short term, Al Gharafa will have a difficult season, but in the long term they have potential to become a competitive team again. They need to put more effort to develop the young, talented local players. At the same time they need to have a close look on how to improve the quality of the technical and administrative staff on all levels. And its important to create a better scouting system to select the right foreigners and future coaches. I see Al Gharafa a little bit as a sleeping giant.

You’ve worked a long period for Aspire Academy. How do you see the progress of the young players that went through your hands at Aspire?

It was special to see many young players that I’ve worked with at Aspire Academy making their debut for the 1st team. Not only at Al Gharafa but with other clubs as well. I hope they will continue to develop the local players because that’s essential for the club’s future. A strong foundation with good local players will eventually make the difference to my opinion. I have pushed hard to give several 2003 players the opportunity to join the first team from the preseason. They have potential but deserve higher quality training sessions and coaching to become mature football players. And they need a customized, individual development plan to close the gap with the first team players.

Which upcoming Aspire players would you pick out for us to keep an eye on?

Ahmed Al Rawi, Mubarak Shenan, Mehdi Al Mejaba — talents picked out by Fouad as potential stars of the future

Mubarak Shenan (Duhail), Mehdi Almejaba (Al Sadd), Ahmed Al Rawi (Al Rayyan), Saif Fadlalla (Al Gharafa) are all fantastic players with big potential. But the last step to the 1st team is the most difficult phase because it requires a customized approach.

How do you see the level of the QSL?

I was a bit surprised to see the current level of the QSL. Al Sadd won the league with a 13-point gap over runners-up Duhail and a difference of 27 points with us. To be honest: it’s a little miracle that we finished 4th because Qatar SC and Al Ahli messed up at the end. Was Al Sadd so strong or was the competition so weak? Al Sadd U23 was playing in the same playing style with the same football principles. It’s clear that the staff of the first team was working closely with the U23 staff. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case at Al Gharafa were the two respective coaches didn’t even speak with each other. I’ve tried to fix this situation but there was too much damage from the past.

Fouad tried to bridge the gap between the first and U23 teams at Al Gharafa

Back in the days the league was absolutely stronger because the quality of the local players and foreigners (like Felipe, Amara Diane and Emerson) was higher. It’s a big disappointment that no QSL team is representing Qatar in the knockout phase of the AFC Champions League.

On the other side, the improvement of the Qatar national team is massive. My former colleague Felix and his staff did a tremendous job. It’s absolutely not easy to achieve what Qatar managed to do until now. When I watch Qatar competing with world class teams it makes me proud because of my Aspire past. I hope they will deliver a beautiful performance at the WC and make the region proud.

How can we improve football in Qatar?

It’s important to raise the level of management in the clubs. Players and technical staff deserve a higher quality & performance environment. I was full time available at the club and within no time players and staff were coming to my office with all their questions and problems. I was hoping to deliver a sustainable model that can be used by all QSL clubs. Maybe there’s not yet enough necessity for the clubs to develop the management and administration but this will certainly become necessary in the near future. Clubs need to raise the bar for themselves. When they keep relying on the government they will not be challenged to become creative and innovative. A small example: other clubs in the GCC invest more in marketing & social media. They have a stronger connection with their fans and followers. Maybe, the QSL clubs are a bit too comfortable and lazy.

Aspire Academy is doing a great job but there’s still a lot to improve at the youth academy level of the clubs. When you raise the level of the instructors, you will develop better coaches and better coaches will help young players having a better football development.

Fouad El Fdil watching a game from the gallery

At Al Gharafa it was a big struggle to change the mindset of the U23 team objectives. It’s all about developing players to prepare them for the 1st team. It’s not about focusing on the game result and not giving playing minutes to talented U19 players. The most playing minutes in U23 team were covered by players with low potential. Most of them left the club and will struggle to play in the first team of a 2nd division club. I’ve watched all U23 games and I know that the 2003 generation has more potential so they should get more playing minutes and individual training/coaching, if you follow a long term vision.

How much do you think exposure trips to Europe have helped young Qatari players?

The tournaments and games with European opponents were very important for these players to step out of their comfort zone and learn to compete. It was a reality check as well. Homam Al Ameen (Al Gharafa) told me he was having a tough time in Belgium but now he’s grateful for this experience. Sometimes we forget that building a personality off the pitch is essential as well.

Homam Al Ameen spent a short period at Aspire-owned KAS Eupen in Belgium

Why haven’t Qatari players been able to continue playing in Europe for longer periods?

I believe they can but they should be more patient because it’s a tough and long process. If they learn to sacrifice they can play in Europe. Maybe life in Doha is too comfortable and tempting for them now.

What’s your next step? Will you stay in Qatar?

After 12 years at The Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB), almost 6 years at Aspire Academy and a great period managing an unique project for the KSA Ministry of Sports in Spain, I really enjoyed the challenge to work as Sporting Director for a big club like Al Gharafa. For me, (the next step) it’s not clear yet. I’ve been contacted for different roles but I prefer to spend some quality time with my family now because due to the pandemic situation we were separated quite a long period. When I’m reloaded again, I will be ready to take a decision for my future.

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