Meet the leaders joining WFS Riyadh 2025

Strategy-driven leader with 15+ years of experience delivering growth, transformation, and operational excellence across public and private sectors. In recent years, I’ve brought this strategic discipline into the sports sector, where I’ve spearheaded ventures that fuse elite athletic development with education and structured talent pathways, like creating first-of-its-kind elite football academy embedded within a private K–12 school in Riyadh.

Mo Adams is a footballer-turned On-Air Analyst and the Founder of Style Speaks, a platform giving a voice to the region through the lens of lifestyle and culture. After six years in MLS- including with Inter Miami- Mo returned to the Saudi Pro League through Al Shabab before transitioning from the pitch to media, bridging global sport and storytelling. He has collaborated with global brands such as Manchester United, adidas and Spotify, and appeared as a Studio Analyst on TNT and DAZN during the FIFA Club World Cup

I am a partnerships manager at TikTok who is leading on the partnership with the Saudi League, the Qatari league and the UAE Pro League. Also, I am working closely with clubs and entities in sports within the region in developing them and expanding their reach and also finding ways of work that can benefit them. Within the saudi league, I have been able to activate the league and clubs in several in-app activations that have seen success and we are working further to benefit the league by providing TikTok creators

Sultan Althari is a Founding Partner at The Althari Group, a global strategic advisory and investment firm, where he leads a portfolio of engagements at the intersection of sports, media, and entertainment. As a member of the Executive and Investment Committees at Al Shabab FC, he oversees strategic investments and global outreach. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the World Football Summit and previously served as a Senior Advisor at Inter Miami CF.

Jesús Arroyo is a seasoned football executive with more than 18 years of experience in the professional football industry. He has held several senior positions, most notably serving as Deputy CEO and Head of Legal & Football Administration at Sevilla FC, one of Spain’s leading clubs. His expertise covers football operations, legal and regulatory frameworks, international relations, governance, and club development.

With over 30 years of experience, I specialise in revitalising football clubs, steering them through challenges & building sustainable paths to success. I have worked across the football ecosystems; from Coventry City during their Premier League tenure to Glasgow Rangers, a club with a rich UEFA Champions League legacy. Currently, as part of Odisha FC’s journey, I’ve focussed on driving grwoth and innovation.

A distinguished marketing and branding leader, Mohammed J. Basrawi brings over 16 years of extensive experience cultivated across sectors such as education, real estate, FMCG, hospitality, and sports. In his current role as General Manager of Marketing Communications & Content (MARCOM & Content) for the Saudi Pro League (SPL), Mohammed spearheads initiatives to enhance the league’s profile, reputation, content strategy, and audience engagement.

Fluent in Portuguese, English and Spanish; Extensive Management, Scouting & Recruitment experience, spending more than two decades in the Brazilian top flight (Série A), the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and the Major League Soccer (MLS), USA. CBF Academy (Brazilian Football Confederation) Instructor, former Sporting Director, Assistant Sporting Director, Director of Scouting and Academy Director. Member of ASD (Association Sporting Directors) Technical Committee and also a member of Abex Futebol

Stuart has lived and worked in Saudi Arabia for nearly 20 years and founded AEI in 2012. The company enables foreign businesses to enter, establish and expand in the Saudi market. The team at AEI have helped over 2,500 foreign companies to achieve success in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Tech Entrepreneur | Innovating Sports & Media| Founder 👉🏼 ve2ventures | Co-owner 433 | Estrella Football Group | Owner & President GDS Cascais | PadelPlay

Eileen is the Head of Football Strategy at the Football Association of Ireland, where she plays a leading role in shaping the future of Irish football. With extensive experience as an International Head Coach, Professional Club Head Coach, and strategic leader, she combines technical expertise with a deep understanding of high-performance environments.

Mohamed (Mo) Harb is the Head of Partnerships at TikTok for the Middle East and North Africa, where he focuses on cultivating a robust ecosystem through collaboration with publishers and business partners. With over 18 years of international experience in online operations, sports business, and partnerships across MENA and Europe, Mo brings a wealth of expertise to his role.

Board director at Saudi Premier League. Former CEO/Managing Director at Eurosport, Fox Sports Asia, Ten Sports, MP and Silva, IMG South Asia

Andy has a global publishing and media career spanning the last 35 years with extensive experience in Europe, Australia, Asia and the USA. He is an alumni of the Stanford University Professional Publishing Course. For the last 20 years, he has worked exclusively in the football media industry, holding senior positions for FourFourTwo, DAZN and now Footballco, leading his teams to multiple industry awards in that time.

David is a highly experienced Research & Insight Director with over 25 years involvement in the UK and international media and market research industries. Following stints at Channel 4, TVNZ, Ipsos and YouGov, 15 years ago David designed, built and delivered the revolutionary research programme for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, providing insight and understanding to key functional areas within the business and informing strategic decision-making at all levels.

Experienced football director and cognitive science specialist with proven success in leading high-performance, data-driven strategies at the elite level. Currently serving as Director of Football and Data Science at the Saudi Pro League, where I oversee sports data, technology, and performance innovation projects across the league. Former Head of Research & Development at FC Copenhagen, integrating neuroscience, cognition, and data science into club-wide methodology.

Chairman of the Runners Association, a not-for-profit founded with support from the Misk Foundation, which began as a community initiative called Riyadh Urban Runners (RUR) in 2016. With a background in speech-language pathology and health & wellness, she combines professional expertise with a passion for healthy living to inspire inclusive, active communities through movement.

Tom D. Mueller is a seasoned leader in sports, advertising and partnerships. Starting his career at Grey/WPP, he built a strong foundation in brand and communications before moving deeper into the sports and digital ecosystem. Today, he leads OneFootball’s global advertising business, with a team of 180 under his responsibility. Tom oversees strategy, ad-tech, and both direct and programmatic revenue streams, ensuring innovative, data-driven solutions for clients.

Farkhunda Muhtaj is an Afghan-Canadian footballer, activist, and humanitarian. She led the 2021 evacuation of 300+ Afghans, including the women’s national team, featured in the Cannes Lions–winning *We Are Ayenda*. Captain of Afghanistan’s national team and midfielder for Calgary Wild FC, she co-founded Scarborough Simbas to support refugees through sport. She’s a global speaker and ambassador for several NGOs, advising Canada Soccer and FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto.

Roland Nikolaou joined IMG in May 2023 to oversee the company’s football media business in the MENA region. Bringing more than 24 years’ of experience and expertise to the role, Roland is responsible for developing new commercial opportunities for the football division and delivering transformative growth and value for partners, which include the Saudi Pro League (SPL) and Arabian Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF).

Sam Sadi is a seasoned executive with an extensive 25-year career, primarily in leadership roles in sports and adjacent industries. As the current CEO of LiveScore Group since 2019, he has played a pivotal role in the company’s pursuit of its vision to Fuel Fans’ Passion for Sport and positioning LiveScore as one of the world’s leading brands in fan engagement.

Andrea is the Founder and CEO of Football Benchmark and Ace Advisory, a spinoff of KPMG’s Sports and Leisure Centre of Excellence. With nearly 30 years of experience across sport, leisure, and real estate, Andrea has led over 300 projects in more than 35 countries. Previously, he served as Global Head of Sports at KPMG and led its Real Estate, Leisure and Tourism practice in Central and Eastern Europe for a decade.

Mikael Silvestre is a former French International player, product of Stade Rennais FC youth system. In 1998-99 he signed for Inter Milan. Then he became a fantastic asset for Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson for nine seasons amassing 361 appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils recording 5 Premier League Titles , the FA Cup, the Football League Cup , two FA Community Shield.

Shahrukh is a seasoned sports management professional with over 14 years of experience, having held senior roles in the sports industry across South Asia, Saudi Arabia, and the UK, with a strong focus on football. He holds a Master’s degree in Sports Management from the University of East London and is a regular contributor and analyst on various media platforms. In 2022, Shahrukh won the prestigious SportsPro Hackathon, demonstrating his innovative expertise in the industry.

Maite Ventura is the Managing Director for MENA and South Asia at LALIGA. With over 10 years working in the Middle East, she joined LALIGA in 2017 as part of LALIGA Global Network, a project to select young talent to grow LALIGA´s International image. Before being promoted to Managing Director for the Middle East and North Africa in 2019, Maite was the LALIGA Delegate for UAE, managing different institutional, sport focused and socio-educational projects across the MENA region hoping to grow the business.