Austin FC named Khaled El-Ahmad chief soccer officer and sporting director on Aug. 25, 2026. He runs soccer operations, from the academy through Austin FC II to the first team, and he reports to chief executive Andy Loughnane.
Jim Curtin, already named the next head coach, will report to El-Ahmad once Curtin starts, which the club set as the later of Dec. 1 or the end of the 2026 season. Until then, Davy Arnaud remains interim head coach.
What the club said he is here to do
“My responsibility is bigger than building a roster,” El-Ahmad said in the announcement. “It is to help build a sporting organization with a clear identity, strong people, aligned processes and a relentless commitment to improving every day.”
Owner Anthony Precourt said El-Ahmad “distinguished himself through his global experience, deep understanding of Major League Soccer, and the clarity of his vision for how a modern sporting organization should operate.”
The club’s biography of the hire says El-Ahmad was chief soccer officer and sporting director at Minnesota United from December 2023, and that Minnesota reached the playoffs in both of his full seasons there, including a club-record 58 points in 2025. Before that he was chief executive and sporting director at Barnsley, and a scouting lead at City Football Group. He was born in Lebanon, raised in Sweden, and played college soccer at Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The coaching timeline beside him is in the Jim Curtin note. The cash from the Owen Wolff trade, which the Chronicle says increases Austin’s allocation money on Sept. 30, is in the Wolff trade note.
Photo: Allianz Field by Thomson200, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources: Austin FC announcement; Austin FC biography, joined Aug. 25, 2026.
