Football fans around the world imagine transferring from the stands to the boardrooms of their cherished clubs. For boyhood Al Ahli supporter Mohammed Faraj Abdulla, this dream has become a reality.
The 43-year-old has worked all his life to become deputy CEO at the all-conquering Red Knights. His task for the last two years has been to help ensure the Dubai-based outfit are as competitive off the pitch as they are on it. Sport360°’s Matt Monaghan spoke to him about the business issues connected with last season’s treble winners.
QAhli have enjoyed a tremendous campaign. What effect did this have on your turnover?
AIt is higher than what we expected. I cannot give the exact number as I am not allowed to do so, but it was above expectations.
Having a successful team improves everything around the club. When I joined the club we had three sponsors or partners, at the end of last season we had 11.
Al Alhi boast high-profile sponsors such as SkyDive Dubai, Mercedes and Nike. Do you think being based in Dubai provides a commercial advantage?
I think the fact we have such sponsors is more down to the connections and dedicated work of (Crown Prince of Dubai and the President of Ahli) H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and (Ahli chairman) Abdullah Saeed Al Naboodah.
There is a PappaRoti coffee shop on site. How did this come about?
I have people who contact me directly about many things.
We have tried to bring a lot of companies, with big names, to run the coffee shop but we set out rules for opening at the club.
PappaRoti understood our rules. I told them they couldn’t just rely on us, they had to bring their own people who are a fan of their product. Alhamdulillah, it is very successful now.
High-profile players have helped the club win many trophies. What role do they play in the business?
We have a lot of fans in Germany, because our captain Grafite used to play for Wolfsburg. German tourists come to watch our games when they visit Dubai.
We noticed when selling our shirts online that we had a big demand from Brazil, Italy,
Turkey and Portugal. That was because of Grafite, Fabio Cannavaro and Ricardo Quaresma – the Portuguese winger who joined us from Turkish club Besiktas. When very famous players come, it supports my store and my sales. Everything good businesswise comes from the results of the team.
Cannavaro has added value to the club, as a player, consultant or assistant coach. We are very proud to have someone like him in the club.
How important is it to be innovative and ambitious with your merchandising strategy?
We were the first team in the UAE to sell our jersey online, through KooraBazar in 2012.
Previously fans were used to getting their shirts for free, but we have changed that mentality as they know they are getting a high quality and innovative product from us.
Every year we also have a limited edition jersey. We started in 2012 with a black jersey, and in three hours we sold the entire stock. Some people love special items, and are awaiting what we produce next. Last season we had a white shirt supporting Expo2020. I am sure our special jersey for the upcoming season will be a huge success again.
I was even talking about our normal shirt with dignitaries from football clubs around Asia when I attended an AFC Champions League meeting in Malaysia, everyone was talking about our beautiful jersey with our 3D logo.
We link the release of our new jerseys with a big event, or something we want to announce.
How important is Ahli’s relationship with kit sponsors Nike?
Nike is the biggest supplier for sporting kits in the world. We have a very good relationship with them.
They supply us with great quality goods, support us in the store and have excellent ideas. They have tremendous experience in the market, and are a great help when I ask them about new merchandising ideas for the fans. Always, they support us. It is a very valuable partnership.
Is it a big challenge for Ahli to bring paying supporters into the ground for matches?
It is the most difficult issue we face, how do we bring people here? At the big matches against Al Ain and Al Jazira our stadium was full, but our fans do not come against smaller teams.
We have a lot of prizes, but it is a big challenge for us.
What areas do you want to improve this season?
I want to reach every person who loves Al Ahli, to see them buy a souvenir or gift from the club. I need people to come to the store and buy what they love.
How well that goes always depends on the results of the team.
Everything goes together, between the football side and the business side.
If you have a weakness, the performance will drop.
Everything was against us last season, with the issues surrounding (Cosmin) Olaroiu’s arrival, three point deduction etc.
Without Ahli’s strong leaders, everything would have collapsed.
What are the disadvantages AGL clubs face in bringing people into the stands?
I attended the Nad Al Sheba Ramadan Tournament recently, and it was fully packed for the indoor football. It is difficult to transfer that here as they have air conditioning.
From November to March the weather is good but the other months are very hot.
People often just watch the matches on the television rather than in the stands.
The timings of the games are difficult. If we have a game in Al Ain at 17:00, it is hard to get there.
The Arabian Gulf League board have a very busy schedule with all the domestic and international competitions.
I am proud of the people at the PLC for doing these arrangements, but we have difficulties bringing in fans.. At the highest levels, Ahli talk with them about timings.
Twitter is an increasingly important tool for football clubs. How does it help Ahli as a business?
Twitter is very important, as it is the easiest way to reach the people who are above 18. You need these people to be on board with you.
People were upset when we started selling the shirt at Dh325, so occasionally we give good offers on them. Using Twitter, it is so easy to promote these things.
We use the club’s official Twitter account, but also our players. Grafite has 140,000 followers and Cannavaro has one million. When we have any news we send it to them to tweet for us.
There is a growing issue in European clubs about wages of players escalating. Is that a problem in the UAE?
It is a concern, but if you want good results you have to spend. You have to spend money for the good players.
We have great quality for each position, I think the strategy of the management is very good as every year we challenge. Last season was a distinguished season for us.
