Smith named Director of Football at Saudi start-up Vision7

Announcing the appointment on LinkedIn, Smith said: “Delighted to finally share that I’ve joined Vision7 in Saudi Arabia. Speaking with the owner and Nick Mccreery for many weeks, the ambition was clear from the beginning – building a professional football club from the ground up and competing within the Saudi leagues.

“Phase one of that journey starts with our Academy, creating the foundations, pathway and environment that everything else will be built from. A lot of work has already gone on behind the scenes to get to this point, building a 33,000 Sqm training ground, creating a 5+ year plan, and starting the recruitment of our first ever Academy cohorts. But we’re only just getting started.”

Vision7 is based in Jubail Industrial City, about 100km north of Dammam, which is the capital of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. It is backed by the Almuzain Group, a Jubail-headquartered industrial services contractor which employs more than 2,000 people and carries out plant work for oil, gas and petrochemical companies.

Football is a new departure for Almuzain and the Academy trades under a company called VA 7.  Vision7’s launch material names Zaheer Zakria, the Chief Operating Officer at Almuzain, as its founder, but the ownership structure has not been made public.

The 33,000-square metre site in the Lulu District combines the Academy with a leisure and wellness complex – “two brands, one destination” – and is positioned as part of Saudi Vision 2030, the state programme to diversify the economy away from oil.

Vision7 describes itself as “the home of next-gen football training and development”, adding: “Here, we empower athletes to envision their future, evolve their skills, and elevate their game to new heights.”

The Academy is open to boys and girls of all ages, is staffed by UEFA and AFC-qualified coaches working to a European curriculum, and has in-house medical and physiotherapy provision, sports science, psychology and nutrition support, plus individual development plans and dual-career education pathways. 

The site also has an Indoor Performance Hub, described by the club as the first of its kind in the Kingdom. It is split into five zones – Technical, Performance Testing, Mini Kickers, VR and Gaming. The Vision7 Arena, a 4v4 indoor smart pitch, is fitted with Icon Fast Feet and Icon 3.0 units, a nine-panel precision wall, power shot and chip shot rigs and live data feedback.

The site’s distinguishing feature is an indoor technology centre, which the club says is the first of its kind in the Kingdom. It is split into five areas: a technical zone, a testing zone, a Mini Kickers zone for the youngest age groups, a VR and gaming zone, and an indoor pitch for small-sided games.

The kit in the technical zone is made by British manufacturer Elite Skills Arena and includes the Icon – a circular arena ringed with LED panels, where the player stands in the middle and passes into targets as they light up – and Fast Feet, a compact 2.5m version of the same thing. There is also a Precision Wall: a nine-panel rebound board with lit targets, used for shooting and passing drills, including power and chipping modes.

Vision7 also runs a scholarship scheme, 1 Child, 1 Vision, funding places in the Academy for one boy and one girl from Jubail each season.

Smith, who is from Grimsby, spent six-and-a-half years at West Ham, joining in 2015 as a Sports Scientist with the men’s Under-23s before moving across to the women’s side. He was the club’s Women’s Academy Director and Women’s First-Team Assistant for four years to 2021, then joined Manchester United in October 2022 in women’s and girls’ talent ID and recruitment.

He moved to Al Ittihad Women in the summer of 2023, before returning to England as Head Coach of Bolton Wanderers Women in June 2024. His only season there brought an unbeaten league campaign – 20 wins and two draws from 22 games – promotion as champions of the North West Regional Division One North, and the Lancashire FA Women’s Challenge Cup. He left in the Autumn of 2025.

Speaking to TGG in March 2024, during his time at Al Ittihad, Smith described the workload and pay in the English women’s and Academy game as unsustainable.

“At West Ham I was Assistant Manager and also the Academy Director of the Women’s,” he said. “I’d go into work at 6am and leave the Academy training session at 11pm at night. You can’t have a personal life, it’s just impossible.

“I loved the job, loved the people I worked with, but was burnt out and drained.”

Of the switch to Saudi Arabia, he added: “I never would have thought I’d work in Saudi Arabia, so it took me by surprise more than anybody, but now I question why I’d go back.”

• See Myles Smith’s TGG Member profile HERE