Austin FC names Khaled El-Ahmad as new sporting director as MLS club continues major rebuild

Austin FC announced Khaled El-Ahmad as their new sporting director and chief soccer officer on Tuesday, as the MLS club continues a major rebuild with a concern about missing the playoffs for the third time in four seasons. El-Ahmad, 45, has been sporting director at Minnesota for the past two seasons, where the team reached the MLS playoffs both years.

Before Minnesota, he served as sporting director for Barnsley, which plays in England’s third tier of professional soccer. El-Ahmad stated that he was drawn to a place with potential and an exciting history. Austin dismissed previous sporting director Rodolfo Borrell on the same day as Nico Estévez’s firing. The club recently promoted team president Andy Loughnane to chief executive officer, overseeing both business and soccer operations.

Loughnane emphasized the importance of hiring someone with El-Ahmad’s experience in managing and developing a roster within the MLS structure, given Austin’s disappointing results on the field. Despite holding an MLS-best streak of 98 consecutive sellouts at Q2 Stadium, Austin has only advanced to the playoffs twice and will have its fourth head coach and third sporting director by the next season.