Khaled El-Ahmad
Chief Soccer Officer and Sporting Director
Born in Lebanon to Lebanese and Czech parents, and raised in Sweden, 42-year-old Khaled El-Ahmad took an interest in soccer at a young age. It all started when he played youth soccer for his hometown club, IK Sirius FK of Sweden’s topflight, in 1998. He then made his way to the United States to play collegiately for the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee from 2000-2004, where he had a prolific playing career at the university level.
El-Ahmad then graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee in 2005 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing. Additionally, he holds a Master of Business Administration and International Business from UW Milwaukee, along with a Sports Management Leadership Diploma from Örebro University, achieved in 2013.
With his playing days past him, El-Ahmad has climbed the ranks of a 15-year-long sporting executive career. Before joining Minnesota United, he was previously the Chief Executive Officer and Sporting Director at Barnsley F.C. in England from 2021-2023. There, he oversaw all aspects of sporting, including direct oversight of technical strategy, roster construction and management, coaching hires and development, as well as the club’s business and commercial operations.
Prior to his time with Barnsley, El-Ahmad was with City Football Group (CFG) from 2015-2021, where he served as the Concacaf and Scandinavia Scouting Lead for CFG as well as supporting roster construction and recruitment for NYCFC of Major League Soccer (MLS). During his six years with CFG, El-Ahmad created and led a strong global scouting and recruiting network, which helped the club produce consistently talented and high-performing teams, including the NYCFC squad that won the 2021 MLS Cup.
Preceding his time at CFG, he served as Head of Recruitment for Djurgården Elitfotboll AB of the Swedish Allsvenskan, the first division of soccer in Sweden. In his four years with the club, El-Ahmad helped the organization construct a talented roster and created a consistent level of success built through the relationships and management of his global scouting network – culminating in the team reaching the Swedish Cup Final in 2013. El-Ahmad also held various technical staff and sporting roles from 2008-2011 in the United States and other parts of Scandinavia & Europe, including assistant-coaching, recruiting/scouting, and data-analysis positions.
Outside of his sporting leadership experience, El-Ahmad has founded several business ventures, including Connect Management Group, a women’s-soccer full-service agency representing players across the globe.
Khaled is married to Fenik Saleh and they have two daughters, Ella and Livia.
