Who is Majed Al Sorour? Newcastle United’s newly-appointed director profiled

According to Newcastle United’s Companies House record, Majed Al Sorour was appointed as the club’s fourth director on Thursday and will sit alongside Amanda Staveley, Jamie Reuben and non-executive chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan on the Magpies board.

But what do we know of Al Souror and how he could help aid the club’s ambitious plans to grow into a major power in the Premier League and Europe?

Making waves in the world of Golf

Al Souror is Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Golf Federation and Golf Saudi.

He is a leading figure in Saudi Arabia’s efforts to attract the world’s best golfers to the Gulf with a new PIF-backed Super League.

The league will consist of seven events and each will carry prize money of around £20.4million.

The likes of Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Louis Oosthuizen are all set to take part according to reports.

Speaking of Saudi Arabia’s plans to increase their involvement in golf, Al Sorour told Andalucia Golf: “We are very much focused on the delivery of world-class facilities, operational excellence and the implementation of international best practice in order to generate widespread uptake in the game by Saudi citizens.

“To do this, we are building a series of Mass Participation programmes to introduce, educate and entertain citizens about golf. A key goal of ours is to offer a first touch point of golf to over a million first-time golfers.

“This will be done through both on and off-course programs, through which citizens can hear and learn more about the game before deciding whether to take it up for themselves.”

A ‘close associate’ of the Magpies chairman

Al Sorour sat alongside non-executive chairman Al-Rumayyan when the Magpies face Spurs at St James Park in their first Premier League fixture following the completion of the takeover.

The pair have a close relationship with Al-Rumayyan also acting as chairman of Saudi Golf Federation.

He has returned on a number of occasions and that led to speculation he would take a more formal role in the running of the club.

The Times reported Al Sorour was to join the club’s board of directors in late-January and suggested the appointment had been passed to the Premier League for approval.

He also acts as an advisor to the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund and has been on the board of the Al-Nassr football club in Riyadh.

United will hope Al Sorour can increase their commercial output by making the most of his business contacts in the Gulf over the coming months.

A former footballer before moving into business

Al Sorour actually played for Saudi side Al-Nassr - the same club where he would become a director - between 1988 and 1994 but would move away from the game when his playing career came to an end.

A move to the United States saw Al Sorour earn a degree and a Masters in Business Administration finance and computer information system at Seattle University.

He went on to hold senior positions in businesses within the Gulf and in the USA before taking up his current roles with the Saudi Golf Federation and Golf Saudi.