Latest / Coffee In The Park with Jennifer and Cam / A Coffee with Nedal Huoseh, Executive Director of ATG Sports Management

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A Coffee with Nedal Huoseh, Executive Director of ATG Sports Management · Coffee In The Park with Jennifer and Cam

• 0:11
  Hello, everybody, Cam Milliken here with another edition of the ABA Coffee In The Park.
• 0:16
  I'm here with my co-host extraordinaire, the amazing Jennifer Herrick.
• 0:21
  Hello, Jennifer.
• 0:22
  Why, hello, Cam.
• 0:23
  Do you know why I'm so excited today?
• 0:25
  Why are you so excited?
• 0:26
  Because we are remote today.
• 0:29
  That's right, we're not in the coffee shop today.
• 0:32
  That's right, we are not in the heart of beautiful downtown Acheson.
• 0:37
  We are not.
• 0:37
  So tell everybody where we are.
• 0:39
  We are currently sitting in Wing Snob.
• 0:43
  And if you've never been to Wing Snob, you've heard Cam and I talk about Wing Snob.
• 0:46
  Yes, we have. How fantastic! We've had Mike Chadi.
• 0:48
  We have had Mike Chadi.
• 0:49
  On our podcast, he started Wing Snob.
• 0:51
  We are in the Manning location in North Edmonton.
• 0:55
  Which I understand we're in the hood.
• 0:58
  This is the hood.
• 0:58
  We're Northside.
• 0:59
  We are in Wing Snob in the hood.
• 1:00
  So this is pretty cool, everybody.
• 1:02
  And we're doing this live right here.
• 1:04
  People around us are eating wings and all that kind of stuff.
• 1:07
  So if you hear some noise in the background, it's because people are eating wings.
• 1:10
  It's not coffee this time.
• 1:11
  No, it's not coffee.
• 1:12
  It's wings.
• 1:12
  So it's pretty cool.
• 1:13
  So, hey, Jennifer, tell us about some very important people.
• 1:16
  We want to thank our gold corporate sponsors, which include the Myshak group of companies, Genics, Parkland County, and Bow Valley Credit Union.
• 1:23
  That's right.
• 1:23
  Without them, we would not be able to do what we do.
• 1:26
  So thank you, everybody.
• 1:27
  It's a fantastic day.
• 1:29
  It's a little overcast here in Edmonton today.
• 1:31
  But you know what?
• 1:32
  It doesn't matter because we have a great guest.
• 1:33
  We do.
• 1:34
  I'm really excited today.
• 1:35
  Are you ready to go?
• 1:36
  I am.
• 1:36
  Why don't you introduce our guest?
• 1:38
  Okay.
• 1:38
  Our guest today is Nedal Huoseh.
• 1:41
  So welcome, Nedal.
• 1:42
  Hi, Nedal.
• 1:43
  Hello.
• 1:44
  Good to have you.
• 1:45
  Thank you for having me.
• 1:45
  This is really great.
• 1:47
  Yes.
• 1:47
  All right.
• 1:48
  We're going to kick right into it.
• 1:50
  And hear your story, because this is a really great story, folks.
• 1:53
  First question.
• 1:54
  Nedal, where were you born and where did you grow up?
• 1:57
  Edmonton, Alberta.
• 1:59
  I grew up in North Edmonton.
• 2:01
  North Edmonton.
• 2:02
  Yes.
• 2:02
  What high school did you go to?
• 2:05
  First high school was M.E. LaZerte, and then I transferred over to Queen Elizabeth.
• 2:09
  Come on.
• 2:10
  Okay.
• 2:11
  I asked this question of every person.
• 2:13
  And if you don't know, it's okay.
• 2:14
  Who was the mascot at your high school?
• 2:16
  What was the mascot at your high school?
• 2:18
  Do you remember?
• 2:19
  Well, M.E. LaZerte, they're voyagers, so I'm not sure.
• 2:23
  Voyagers okay.
• 2:25
  I'm not sure who the mascot was.
• 2:26
  I think it was some voyager.
• 2:27
  Yeah, okay.
• 2:28
  And Queen Elizabeth High School.
• 2:31
  Damn.
• 2:32
  Good question.
• 2:34
  Maybe it was Queen Elizabeth.
• 2:34
  Maybe it was Queen Elizabeth.
• 2:36
  We'll go with that.
• 2:37
  We'll go with that.
• 2:38
  Not the most important question.
• 2:40
  Now tell us.
• 2:41
  No, let me go back.
• 2:42
  Yeah.
• 2:42
  It was Knights, the Knights.
• 2:44
  So they were the Knights.
• 2:44
  Okay.
• 2:45
  The Knights.
• 2:46
  All right.
• 2:46
  I just asked that because I grew up in Edmonton.
• 2:48
  I went to Ross Shep and we were the Thunderbirds.
• 2:50
  And so I always like to know what everybody's mascot was.
• 2:53
  So tell us though, tell us like you're born in Edmonton, but what is your family background?
• 3:00
  You are?
• 3:02
  We're Palestinian.
• 3:03
  Yeah.
• 3:03
  And yeah, my father came to Canada in the early 60s.
• 3:09
  Came here as a refugee.
• 3:10
  Yeah.
• 3:11
  And then just, you know, got married, raised a family.
• 3:16
  And seven children, there's seven of us.
• 3:18
  Yeah.
• 3:18
  Four girls, three boys.
• 3:20
  And yeah, we were all born and raised in Edmonton.
• 3:22
  Okay.
• 3:23
  And so out of the seven, where do you fall?
• 3:25
  Oldest?
• 3:26
  Youngest?
• 3:26
  Middle?
• 3:27
  I'm in the middle.
• 3:28
  I'm number three, actually.
• 3:29
  Number three.
• 3:30
  Cool.
• 3:31
  Okay.
• 3:32
  Does your dad ever told, why did he come to Canada?
• 3:34
  Why?
• 3:35
  What was, like, how come he didn't go to the States?
• 3:38
  Or what was Canada the draw?
• 3:40
  Well, you know, he went through the, he went through the 1947, you know, creation of Israel and they were exiled from their homes at the time.
• 3:49
  And then they ended up in Jordan, in a refugee camp.
• 3:53
  Really?
• 3:53
  And when he was about 19, he, 18, 19, he got an opportunity to go to Germany.
• 4:02
  So he moved to Germany and worked in the coal mines.
• 4:05
  Really?
• 4:06
  Yeah.
• 4:06
  And there he made some friends, other Palestinians, Greeks, Italians, different cultures that were helping build Germany and working in the coal mines.
• 4:16
  A couple of his friends, Palestinian friends, they said, Hey, Faisal, let's go to Canada.
• 4:21
  Really?
• 4:21
  So they, they got on a ship.
• 4:23
  Yeah.
• 4:23
  And they came to Canada.
• 4:25
  And they first actually landed in Ontario.
• 4:27
  That's where they first started.
• 4:27
  And then they made their way to Alberta because somebody said, there's oil and work in Alberta.
• 4:34
  So, you know, in the 60s.
• 4:36
  So that's how he ended up here.
• 4:38
  Is that right?
• 4:39
  And he wasn't married yet?
• 4:41
  No, no, he wasn't married.
• 4:42
  He was actually living in, he was renting a place with a family, Lebanese family.
• 4:48
  And at the time, older couple, and they really liked my dad a lot.
• 4:53
  And the lady who's, I consider her aunt, God bless her soul.
• 4:59
  She told him, I really like you a lot.
• 5:01
  I'm going to connect you with one of my cousins that was back home.
• 5:06
  And he said, okay.
• 5:08
  So then there was a connection made there, some matchmaking.
• 5:12
  But she wasn't here.
• 5:13
  She was there.
• 5:14
  She was there.
• 5:15
  So he'd never met her.
• 5:16
  Never met her.
• 5:17
  Yeah.
• 5:17
  No, they got married over the phone.
• 5:20
  Come on.
• 5:21
  Oh, literally over the phone.
• 5:23
  What an amazing story.
• 5:24
  So my grandparents went to Lebanon to meet the family and everything.
• 5:28
  And it was just they got married over the phone, the engagement.
• 5:31
  And I think a few months later she was in Canada.
• 5:33
  And that is amazing.
• 5:35
  What a great story.
• 5:36
  He got married over the phone.
• 5:37
  Imagine that long distance bill.
• 5:39
  Boy, no kidding.
• 5:41
  Yeah.
• 5:42
  So, yeah.
• 5:43
  I mean, he passed away in 2008.
• 5:45
  But yeah, my parents stayed together and raised seven of us.
• 5:50
  And I think we're almost 30 grandkids.
• 5:53
  And I think 10 or 11 or maybe 12 great grandkids.
• 5:56
  Oh, what a fantastic heritage.
• 5:59
  Like what a fantastic heritage.
• 6:01
  What an amazing story.
• 6:02
  You got to write a book.
• 6:03
  That is an amazing story right there.
• 6:05
  Okay.
• 6:05
  So you went to high school.
• 6:07
  You finished high school, then what?
• 6:09
  Well, it's interesting.
• 6:11
  I got married when I was 21.
• 6:12
  Okay.
• 6:13
  So I met my wife at a wedding in Edmonton.
• 6:16
  Her family had just moved here from Kuwait.
• 6:19
  They're Palestinian as well.
• 6:20
  And that was before the war in Kuwait, the first war.
• 6:24
  And I saw her at a wedding and I thought, okay, interesting.
• 6:29
  So then, of course...
• 6:30
  Was it love at first sight?
• 6:32
  I mean, you know, caught my eye.
• 6:34
  Of course, of course.
• 6:37
  If she's listening, it was love at first sight.
• 6:39
  Absolutely, absolutely.
• 6:41
  No, no, she's a great lady.
• 6:43
  Actually, she's amazing.
• 6:44
  But yeah, so we got married.
• 6:47
  I was a year later, I was 21 and she was 19.
• 6:51
  She was in university.
• 6:52
  I was in school.
• 6:54
  So we struggled.
• 6:57
  I started at NAIT.
• 6:58
  I was working in, I was studying electrical engineering technology.
• 7:04
  So I completed my first year and then I realized, damn, I need money.
• 7:10
  And it wasn't making you any money.
• 7:12
  No, and my father, he went through a tough time in the 80s.
• 7:14
  He did well in the 70s, but in the 80s, early 80s, as you know, Alberta took part in the big hit.
• 7:19
  Things crashed.
• 7:21
  So there wasn't really, he couldn't do much to help me, of course, but I knew that.
• 7:26
  So then I had to leave school and start working.
• 7:30
  Couldn't find a job, so then I ended up looking around, and I ended up with an electrical contractor in Edmonton, working with them, digging trenches for $7 an hour.
• 7:40
  It's funny when people complain to me about that.
• 7:41
  Folks, did you hear that?
• 7:42
  $7 an hour.
• 7:43
  So for those who are complaining now, $7 an hour.
• 7:48
  Yeah, and hard work digging trenches.
• 7:49
  Yeah, and that was a tough time in Alberta.
• 7:52
  That was not an easy time.
• 7:53
  Yeah, that was early 90s, and then I remember after my first year, I got like a $0.75 raise, and I was so excited.
• 7:59
  I was like, okay, I'm gonna make $5, $6 more a week.
• 8:04
  That's fantastic, that's great.
• 8:06
  Yeah, so then after that, the company I was with, because I had a little bit of a technology background, and I thought I excelled in what I did, and they were happy, so they put me through some additional training in the telecommunications industry, and then I started working with them, and then I, after, I don't know, five years, I decided to move on to the industrial side, worked on the industrial side in oil and gas, and then opened up my own company in 2003.
• 8:34
  Really?
• 8:35
  Yeah, ASI Tech, still existing, still around, and built that company up.
• 8:42
  We employed close to 70 people.
• 8:44
  Wow.
• 8:45
  Yeah.
• 8:45
  And what did you guys do?
• 8:47
  We specialized, basically, we supported companies that built automation systems on oil and gas plants, so we would support all their communication systems from SCADA to fiber optics, any automation systems that they needed support with.
• 9:02
  So we had technicians in the field that would do all the commissioning and support and so forth.
• 9:07
  So that's amazing.
• 9:08
  It was busy in the oil and gas, and yeah, started in the basement of my house, and I peaked at about just under 70 employees.
• 9:16
  Wow.
• 9:17
  Before they shut down the pipelines in Alberta.
• 9:19
  Yeah.
• 9:21
  But in 2008, I took my son to register for his soccer.
• 9:31
  Oh yeah.
• 9:33
  I say football now, because I'm in Europe more.
• 9:35
  Yeah.
• 9:36
  That's right.
• 9:37
  So, folks, when he's talking about football, it's actually soccer.
• 9:40
  Yeah.
• 9:40
  So, I'll try to keep it to soccer.
• 9:42
  Yeah.
• 9:45
  So, I went to register.
• 9:47
  We went to meet the coach and the director of the community at that time, because we were living in St.
• 9:54
  Albert, and I had to bring him to Kensington, Edmonton, because there's nothing available in St.
• 9:59
  Albert.
• 9:59
  Okay.
• 9:59
  And then the director comes and meets us and says, I'm sorry, folks, there's no coach available.
• 10:06
  And I'm like, okay.
• 10:08
  So my son was sad, all these little boys are sad.
• 10:11
  My wife says, why don't you do it?
• 10:12
  I mean, you have your company going, you have people operating things, and you have time.
• 10:17
  Did you play soccer as a kid?
• 10:19
  I played maybe once in junior high.
• 10:22
  They needed a goalkeeper, and I used to play American football, so I was a bigger guy.
• 10:27
  Oh, okay, okay.
• 10:28
  I remember coach goes up, he said, you know, you're a big, thick guy, you know, you can, we need a keeper.
• 10:34
  So I just stood in that.
• 10:35
  I mean, we had such a good team, I didn't have to do anything, so I just...
• 10:38
  I just...
• 10:39
  I love it, that's great.
• 10:41
  Sometimes I just sat down and watched them play.
• 10:43
  I mean, they were like, because the opponents could never get into our side of the game.
• 10:47
  And when they did, I got up, and I actually made a couple of good saves, you know?
• 10:51
  But I remember I landed once, and I cut my knee on glass, and I said, I don't want to do this.
• 10:56
  Yeah.
• 10:57
  So, but, you know, I was like a, I don't know, a 210-pound goalkeeper.
• 11:02
  You know, I was lifting weights, and I want to play American football.
• 11:05
  Yeah, that's great.
• 11:06
  So, so yeah, so I took it on, and then I started coaching, and in my travels in football, soccer, I came across different players, and one of them was Alphonso.
• 11:20
  And then, so we better clarify, Alphonso.
• 11:26
  Alphonso Davies.
• 11:26
  Alphonso Davies, okay.
• 11:28
  So, we became close friends with his family, and we built a good relationship with the family and everything, and Alphonso and my son became really close friends, and you know, we spent a lot of time together, and yeah, he was like, I have three kids, two boys and a daughter, and he became like one of my kids, basically.
• 11:49
  Right, so this was in Kensington?
• 11:51
  No, this was, we had moved from Kensington over to the club side with the strikers, Edmonton strikers.
• 11:58
  Okay, yeah, so in Edmonton, in the heart of Edmonton.
• 12:01
  Yeah, in the Edmonton leagues.
• 12:03
  And then after some time, you know, Alphonso was getting a lot of, you know, eyes looking at him from outside, because you know, he got identified at the provincial camps and then national camps when he got invited out.
• 12:19
  Right.
• 12:20
  And then the Vancouver Whitecaps came around and said, hey, look, you know, we're interested in this, in inviting him out to our academy.
• 12:28
  At the time, his mother wasn't really keen on the idea.
• 12:30
  You know, she said to me, oh, you know, they call me Habibi.
• 12:34
  That's in Arabic, that means like sweetheart.
• 12:36
  Oh yeah, yeah.
• 12:37
  Hey, hey, remember that name.
• 12:39
  That's a good name.
• 12:40
  Habibi, I like that name.
• 12:41
  She said, Habibi, you know, I don't want to send him.
• 12:43
  You know, I'm not sure if I don't want, you know, she basically didn't want him to go chase a dream that might not happen.
• 12:50
  And then she has a 25 year old sitting on her couch that she has to feed, right?
• 12:55
  And you know, his parents came to Canada as refugees as well, similar to my father's case, so I can relate to what they're going through, right?
• 13:04
  Because when they come here and they arrive to Canada, you know, you're in kind of survival mode, right?
• 13:07
  You need to know how to survive and work and everything else.
• 13:09
  And they always worked in service jobs and so forth and they did a good job.
• 13:13
  Hard-working people.
• 13:14
  Of course, they don't pay a whole lot of money, right?
• 13:16
  A whole lot.
• 13:17
  And so, they always struggle, right?
• 13:19
  So, she asked me, she says, what do you think if it was your son?
• 13:23
  I said, I'd open up the opportunity for him, you know?
• 13:26
  You never know where it takes him.
• 13:27
  What were you feeling at this time?
• 13:29
  Like, you were looking at Alphonso, but also you, what were you feeling at this time?
• 13:33
  Like, were you...
• 13:34
  Well, I was happy, you know?
• 13:35
  I said, oh, this is great for him.
• 13:35
  You know, he's getting invited out to their academy.
• 13:37
  And it was just with their U-15 group, right?
• 13:39
  Right, right.
• 13:40
  Just an academy.
• 13:41
  I mean, it's not a...
• 13:42
  It wasn't a professional contract or anything.
• 13:45
  And then...
• 13:46
  Were you thinking yourself any further ahead?
• 13:48
  No, no.
• 13:49
  No, we're just not at this point, no.
• 13:50
  They just contacted me.
• 13:51
  Usually the clubs will contact the coach that's working with the players.
• 13:54
  Right, right.
• 13:55
  And at that time, because I had such a good relationship with him and his family and his parents, I helped them out with the paperwork.
• 14:01
  Like, basically, I went through the contract, just read through it and said, okay, yeah.
• 14:05
  They helped, you know, Whitecaps asked me to facilitate it with the family because I traveled to Vancouver with Alphonso and the family didn't, you know, they didn't travel much.
• 14:15
  It's just not easy for them.
• 14:16
  So they did one time, they did travel with me and then I helped facilitate all the paperwork and we got him into the Academy and then after that, you know, I was kind of like the go-to guy.
• 14:27
  So anybody that came around and spoke to them, they would just say, yeah, talk to, yeah.
• 14:31
  You were his protector.
• 14:33
  Yeah, I guess you could say, yeah, kind of family friend.
• 14:35
  Didn't want anybody taking advantage of them, wanted to make sure everything was being done right.
• 14:40
  And interestingly, at his age, at 14, unfortunately, most coaches don't want to give up their player and send them off to the Vancouver.
• 14:48
  They want to keep them here so they could win the Edmonton Trophy, which doesn't mean anything.
• 14:53
  Yeah, look, you know, for a few, if the opportunity comes, you have to take it.
• 14:56
  Right.
• 14:57
  So then I, yeah, I was just there and I had some clients in Vancouver.
• 15:04
  So I was traveling once a month.
• 15:05
  So I told his mom, I'll check up on him and keep going in and out.
• 15:09
  And I did, right?
• 15:10
  Because, you know, he was just a close friend.
• 15:13
  I really liked the kid, you know, he's a good kid and close friends with my son, Adam.
• 15:17
  And then after six, seven months, the Whitecaps called me and said, hey, we need you to help us facilitate something else for us, you know, we want to offer Alphonso a professional contract with our second team at the time.
• 15:29
  They had a second team with the USL Championship.
• 15:32
  Right.
• 15:33
  I said, okay, what does that entail?
• 15:34
  They said, well, you should need some paperwork signed.
• 15:36
  I said, okay, well, I'm not going to just sign paperwork, send it over.
• 15:39
  I looked at it, went through it, pretty straightforward.
• 15:41
  I talked to a couple of friends of mine in the soccer industry, just guys who know a little bit about, you know, those leagues.
• 15:48
  And they said it's pretty straightforward, very generic, you know, contracts, pretty standard.
• 15:51
  And hey, we're going to sign him.
• 15:53
  He was like 14 and a half years old, paying him $2,500 US dollars a month.
• 15:58
  It was like, wow, okay.
• 15:59
  I'm like, great.
• 16:00
  And I think maybe at that time, he was making as much money as his dad.
• 16:05
  Yeah, for sure, incredibly.
• 16:08
  So then we signed it and we helped facilitate it.
• 16:12
  So the Whitecaps, you know, thank you and whatever.
• 16:14
  I just did it like, just like that.
• 16:16
  Trying to help the family.
• 16:17
  Yeah.
• 16:17
  So then he got into that second team and then he started getting noticed by other agents and so forth.
• 16:24
  And then he would give them my number and the family would tell everybody to reach out to me.
• 16:29
  And then I had agents calling me and everything else.
• 16:33
  So how was the family at this point?
• 16:34
  Were they accepting more that he was getting recognized, he was getting noticed at a higher level?
• 16:40
  Oh yeah, 100%.
• 16:42
  So now they were a little more accepting of that.
• 16:44
  More accepting, exactly.
• 16:46
  And then after, I don't know, seven, eight months with the second team, they called me again and said, hey, we want to sign him with the first team.
• 16:52
  Right.
• 16:53
  At 15 years and eight months.
• 16:55
  He signed his first pro contract.
• 16:57
  Isn't that something?
• 16:57
  That's amazing.
• 16:59
  What was I doing at 15?
• 17:00
  I was.
• 17:01
  Not that.
• 17:02
  Not that, that's for sure.
• 17:03
  You know, with MLS, it's pretty straightforward, right?
• 17:07
  It's a they have a senior minimum and a such like they have because it's a union based structure.
• 17:13
  So basically the player will, he'll get the minimum.
• 17:17
  What's you know, there's a minimum set.
• 17:19
  I think it was over 65.
• 17:21
  I can't remember what 60 or 70,000 a year.
• 17:23
  Right.
• 17:24
  15 years.
• 17:25
  So it's kids like on cloud nine.
• 17:26
  Yeah, I know.
• 17:27
  So so we we facilitated that.
• 17:30
  And then at that time, now everybody's watching them, all these agents coming in because you have multiple agents and and they would just reach out to me and hey, you know, we want to we want to sign this kid convince and Alphonso and his family.
• 17:47
  Like, you know, they really trusted me in the sense that, you know, talk to me and I helped them out wherever I can.
• 17:52
  And these guys would call me and I'd say, look, let me know what you what your plan is, what the idea is here for the kid.
• 17:58
  And a lot of agencies, agents would come around and say, hey, listen, you know, we'll include you in the deal.
• 18:04
  They don't know nothing about me.
• 18:05
  They think maybe I'm just a guy working, looking, you know.
• 18:08
  Did they think you were his agent or?
• 18:10
  No, no, they knew just I was his coach.
• 18:12
  You were his coach, okay, yeah.
• 18:13
  But they knew I was a close family friend.
• 18:15
  Right, right.
• 18:15
  Everything, you know, his parents wanted me to do the diligence.
• 18:18
  Yeah.
• 18:18
  Because they weren't sure what they were dealing with.
• 18:20
  And they trusted you and that's an important aspect.
• 18:22
  And Alphonso would always send me, you know, when guys would come around, he'd say, I'm gonna call my coach, right?
• 18:27
  I'm not his coach anymore, but I'm gonna call my coach.
• 18:29
  Yeah.
• 18:30
  So the trust relationship was there, right?
• 18:32
  And so I would vet these guys, right?
• 18:34
  And just ask some questions and, you know, then guys would come around and say, oh, hey, you know, we'll include you in the deal.
• 18:40
  We'll slip you some money.
• 18:41
  And then I'm thinking, OK, well, I'm not trying to, I'm not here to sell them, first of all.
• 18:45
  And number two, I don't need your money.
• 18:47
  Like, I mean, I, you know, like, I'm working.
• 18:50
  I'm, you know, my company's been successful, thankfully.
• 18:52
  And, you know, hopefully stay successful.
• 18:54
  But at the end of the day, I'm not looking for, like, to be bribed by some agent.
• 18:59
  What was that, an eye-opener for you?
• 19:01
  Or did you know that went on already?
• 19:04
  Well, I, like, I heard about it, you know?
• 19:06
  Yeah.
• 19:07
  I always say I watched that McGuire with Tom Cruise.
• 19:11
  Oh, yeah, yeah.
• 19:13
  Jerry McGuire! Great movie, yeah.
• 19:14
  And all the, you know, you can see all the corruption in the sport, right?
• 19:17
  As an agent.
• 19:18
  But at the end of the day, I mean, it didn't phase me, right?
• 19:21
  So I'm like, okay, whatever.
• 19:23
  So I said to the agents, I said, look, give me some proposal on paper, send it to me, email it to me.
• 19:31
  I'll review them and then sit with the family and see what you guys have to offer for them, right?
• 19:36
  And then, I think I had like three or four, I can't remember, sent me some information.
• 19:42
  Some didn't, you know, they get a little irate, they don't like it, you know, who this guy think he is, he's just a youth coach.
• 19:50
  Well, okay, whatever, no problem.
• 19:52
  And then, you're the guy that's trying to bribe me.
• 19:55
  So, yeah.
• 20:00
  Don't come with an attitude, you know.
• 20:03
  I love it, so just beat it, you know, from my perspective, like beat it, then you get lost, right?
• 20:08
  I don't need to deal with you.
• 20:09
  So then, I sat with his family, and then his mom says, you know, his mom and dad said, Habibi, why don't you just do it?
• 20:14
  I'm like, me?
• 20:15
  I said, I'm not a football coach.
• 20:17
  Yeah.
• 20:17
  Or an agent, I should say.
• 20:20
  I can coach, I coached, and they said, yeah, but you know, you have a business, you're successful.
• 20:24
  I said, yeah, but like, I would, you know, I'd be concerned, you know, I make a mistake or do the wrong thing or not sure, you know, like, I mean, Alphonso's really just taken off here and we want to make sure he gets supported well.
• 20:38
  They said, we trust you, and I thought, okay.
• 20:39
  And then I asked Fonzie, I said, man, your family wants me to do this, and he's like, ah, yeah, you know, you're doing everything, you know, you're helping us with everything else, why not?
• 20:47
  That's incredible.
• 20:48
  Like, I trust you, you've always been around, and so.
• 20:51
  I just think that, first of all, they trusted you enough, but secondly, that you were, it wasn't like you were going, well, yeah, absolutely, I need to be your agent.
• 20:59
  You, you, you knew, I mean, you, yeah.
• 21:03
  I wasn't, I wasn't planning to be an agent.
• 21:04
  Yeah, you weren't planning to be an agent, no.
• 21:06
  Yeah, you wasn't, honestly, life's goal, and you weren't wanting to take advantage of anybody.
• 21:10
  I think, what an attitude.
• 21:11
  That's a fantastic attitude.
• 21:13
  I, you know, my business in Edmonton here, like, has been doing really well.
• 21:17
  It's still, it's still in operation, and I, and I just, it was like my bread and butter, right?
• 21:23
  So I'm thinking, okay, I'm, where's this going to take me to become an agent?
• 21:28
  I mean, like, you know, I hear about guys in the hockey industry and this and that, and they're struggling as agents, and then, you know, you hear about, you know, like, it's not an easy business, because most agents are only as good as the talent they have.
• 21:40
  Right.
• 21:41
  Right.
• 21:41
  It doesn't matter how, you know, anybody can sit and have a discussion and try to say they know how to be an agent, but nobody was born to be an agent, you know?
• 21:51
  So, number one is, you need talent.
• 21:52
  Yeah.
• 21:53
  If you don't have the talent, it doesn't really matter.
• 21:55
  It doesn't matter.
• 21:56
  Exactly.
• 21:57
  So, I thought about it and I said, okay, so I spoke to a friend of mine who was actually, he was with Manchester United at the time, and he was one of the first scouts that looked at Alphonso, and had reached out to me when he was with the Whitecaps, and we became close, and I said to him, I said, what do you think of this?
• 22:13
  Like, I mean, he says, man, do it.
• 22:16
  He goes, you actually, you know, you're actually close to the kid, you care about him.
• 22:19
  I mean, you're not just seeing dollar signs.
• 22:21
  Yeah, and I actually wasn't. Youhave his best interests at heart.
• 22:22
  That's amazing, yeah.
• 22:25
  At that time, you know, there was interest from Manchester United, but nothing had happened.
• 22:29
  Nobody was at the table at that time.
• 22:30
  There was no Bayern Munich.
• 22:31
  There was nothing going on, right?
• 22:34
  And then some, I took it on.
• 22:39
  I took it on and I said, OK, no problem.
• 22:41
  So then I went to the Whitecaps and I told him, look, I'm going to be his agent, because at that time, they were promoting an agent, like in the previous, and I'll say it publicly and I'll say it all the time.
• 22:49
  I don't have nothing to hide.
• 22:51
  There's some shady stuff going on.
• 22:52
  Sure.
• 22:52
  And that perspective, you know, with the coach, because professional sports, the Whitecaps, you know, at that time, Vancouver had, like, I don't know, maybe a dozen guys.
• 22:59
  I'm not sure how many, but there's a lot of guys from one agent who was tied in with the coach.
• 23:04
  They were trying to sign Alphonso.
• 23:05
  So they wanted his agent, their agent, not, their guy.
• 23:09
  Yeah.
• 23:09
  And they wanted this guy.
• 23:10
  And then when I told them I'm going to be the agent, they were like, oh, that's a lot of work.
• 23:14
  And there's no money in it.
• 23:15
  And I'm thinking, okay, well.
• 23:16
  Stick to what you're doing, man.
• 23:18
  Yeah.
• 23:18
  There's no money in it.
• 23:19
  It's a lot of work.
• 23:20
  Great.
• 23:20
  No problem.
• 23:21
  I'm not looking for it.
• 23:23
  You know, and I'm thinking in the back of my head, okay, well, you know, what am I going to make?
• 23:28
  Kid makes $60,000, $70,000 a year.
• 23:30
  A couple thousand dollars a year?
• 23:31
  This other guy, you know, I mean, whatever.
• 23:34
  I eat more in chicken wings.
• 23:35
  Yeah.
• 23:37
  At Wing Snob.
• 23:38
  Yeah.
• 23:38
  Okay.
• 23:38
  Yeah.
• 23:39
  There was no Wing Snob.
• 23:39
  There was no Wing Snob yet.
• 23:40
  Yeah.
• 23:41
  Yeah.
• 23:41
  That's right.
• 23:41
  Yeah.
• 23:41
  That's right.
• 23:42
  Just the homemade one.
• 23:43
  Yeah.
• 23:43
  That's right.
• 23:43
  Yeah.
• 23:44
  Yeah.
• 23:44
  But yeah.
• 23:44
  So I thought, okay, you know, whatever, right?
• 23:46
  No.
• 23:47
  So I did it.
• 23:48
  And then there's some shady things going on because, you know, the coach at the time was trying to get Alphonso's, they were trying to get Alphonso's family to sign with them and with their agent.
• 24:01
  And there's some little bit of a, little bit of shady things going on there.
• 24:06
  And I'm thinking, I'm thinking about it.
• 24:08
  Man, this is not right, right?
• 24:09
  So then, yeah, I became his agent.
• 24:12
  And then a year later, I was on a table negotiating a contract with Bayern Munich.
• 24:19
  Wow.
• 24:20
  What a journey.
• 24:21
  What a story.
• 24:22
  What an incredible story.
• 24:23
  And I mean, he became...
• 24:27
  So folks, we better say...
• 24:28
  I was gonna say.
• 24:29
  Yeah, go ahead.
• 24:30
  I mean, for those who don't know, because not everybody probably is a soccer fan or a football fan, Alphonso Davies is considered to be, I would say, and Nedal, you correct me if I'm wrong, one of the best, premier players in the world, without a doubt, and you know, grew up in Edmonton.
• 24:47
  Yeah, grew up in Edmonton, in the inner city of Edmonton, and his stardom, his journey has taken him to an amazing place, but he's a great player.
• 24:56
  Great player.
• 24:57
  And so now you're an agent.
• 25:00
  You have a business.
• 25:01
  Did you sell your business?
• 25:03
  No, no, kept your business.
• 25:04
  No, I kept it actually, because.
• 25:06
  And which took more time, your business or being an agent?
• 25:12
  That's a good question.
• 25:13
  Yeah.
• 25:14
  You know what, when I opened up my business, ASI, it just took off like, yeah, like we I went from 2003 from myself in the basement to 2005.
• 25:26
  Yeah, like just under 70 employees.
• 25:29
  Yeah.
• 25:29
  And we just kept, so it just took off.
• 25:32
  Yeah.
• 25:33
  Because there was a, you know, there was a need for my services in the oil and gas.
• 25:37
  It was kind of a new industry that was just being a new, new technology, sorry, that was being introduced to the oil and gas industry.
• 25:45
  So I did really well there.
• 25:47
  Wow.
• 25:48
  Being a football agent is fun.
• 25:50
  Yeah.
• 25:51
  It has its challenges.
• 25:52
  I'll give you an example, like Alphonso's last contract, we just resigned with Bayern Munich, but it took us two years to do that deal.
• 25:58
  Right.
• 26:01
  Initially, we had agreed in principle on everything with the previous leadership group from Bayern, but then they let them go.
• 26:11
  We had handshake, emails, everything, and then they let them go, and I didn't hear from the club for seven months.
• 26:17
  So then, you know, the player, the athlete, everybody's wondering what's going on, this and that, but it can be draining.
• 26:25
  But for me, I just take it step by step and stride by stride.
• 26:29
  I mean, at the end of the day, he's one of the best in his position on the globe.
• 26:33
  And, you know, right now, he's injured, of course, but he's coming back and he's going to be even better, hopefully.
• 26:41
  And, you know, I don't get stressed about it.
• 26:45
  I don't panic.
• 26:46
  There's no need to.
• 26:47
  Like, I think the last thing a person wants to do is panic in these situations.
• 26:53
  Yeah, so did you take on any other players since?
• 26:56
  Yeah, in 2020, another player reached out to me, Ayo Akinola, top talent from Vancouver, from, sorry, Toronto FC.
• 27:04
  Yeah.
• 27:05
  He signed at 17, pro deal as well, striker, top striker, everything.
• 27:11
  Took him on.
• 27:11
  He reached out and said, hey, I want to see if you'd represent me.
• 27:15
  He got my number from Alphonso and, yeah, I took him on and really top talent.
• 27:21
  Unfortunately, he had an ACL injury with Canada soccer as well.
• 27:26
  Yeah.
• 27:27
  Yeah.
• 27:27
  Playing with the national team.
• 27:28
  Right.
• 27:30
  So, I mean, I'm not blaming Canada soccer, but it's a lot of, the thing of it is, just to say it, I mean, it's a lot of work on these athletes, these athletes to play national team, and the expectations are a lot, right?
• 27:43
  So, were you ever tempted to move out of Edmonton?
• 27:46
  Were you ever tempted to, you had Alphonso now, you had another player now?
• 27:53
  Were you ever, you know what I mean?
• 27:55
  Like, I like Edmonton.
• 27:56
  I was born and raised here.
• 27:57
  Yeah.
• 27:57
  It's a city that's close to my heart, in the sense that, because it's home for me, right?
• 28:03
  I've been to Palestine, I've been overseas, and I've seen like where my father came from, and where he grew up, and everything.
• 28:11
  It would be tougher because I have a lot of family here, but at the same time, I'll be honest with you, I do want to move.
• 28:17
  Yeah.
• 28:18
  I mean, it's too cold here.
• 28:20
  Yeah.
• 28:20
  I can't do the cold anymore.
• 28:23
  I love the honesty.
• 28:25
  I honestly, I mean, we say that all the time, right?
• 28:29
  It's funny, you know, when I talk- In February. I gotta move.
• 28:32
  Why do we live here?
• 28:33
  Maybe that's the Mediterranean blood in me.
• 28:35
  Yeah, yeah.
• 28:36
  No, no, no.
• 28:37
  Every time I go to the Middle East, and then it's funny, because when I go to the Middle East or I go to some of these warm areas like Dubai, Qatar, my wife's like, it's too hot.
• 28:45
  It's 50.
• 28:45
  And my wife was born in Kuwait, right?
• 28:47
  Dubai has beautiful beaches.
• 28:49
  I'll be like, yeah, I know it's 50, but I lived in minus 50 for many years.
• 28:54
  Yeah, that's right.
• 28:55
  I want to try plus 50.
• 28:56
  It's going to take you 50 years just to warm up.
• 28:59
  So, yeah.
• 28:59
  So, no, I mean, of course I did.
• 29:03
  I have to be on that side of the world because I have a few players now out there.
• 29:10
  We have a number of top young talents and we have some, of course, professional players playing overseas and in MLS.
• 29:16
  So, we have over 20 players now.
• 29:19
  And so, I have to do a lot of moving around.
• 29:24
  I've been looking in Edmonton for the next top talent.
• 29:28
  There's a lot of good players, but I just haven't found anybody with the same pedigree as Alphonso.
• 29:35
  I mean, it's just not...
• 29:37
  What an incredible story.
• 29:39
  I mean, unbelievable.
• 29:41
  Yeah.
• 29:43
  I'm just in awe here.
• 29:44
  I'm sitting in awe, because this is just an amazing story and you're humble and you're just...
• 29:49
  It's incredible.
• 29:51
  And so, believe it or not, we're coming to the end.
• 29:54
  So...
• 29:54
  It goes fast.
• 29:56
  I know.
• 29:56
  So, we have one final question that we ask all of our guests.
• 30:00
  What is the best piece of advice you've been given either personally or professionally that you carry with you to this day?
• 30:08
  Honestly, it was by my dad.
• 30:11
  God bless his soul.
• 30:13
  He always said, when you work, be ethical.
• 30:16
  Like, always have good ethics.
• 30:18
  Never panic, you know.
• 30:19
  And always remember, like, things happen for a reason.
• 30:23
  You might not always get what you want, or, you know, if you're trying to win a project or a job or sign a player and so forth.
• 30:30
  But accept the situation that you're in and accept the outcome and the results.
• 30:34
  Because at the end of the day, that's what makes you better and stronger, you know.
• 30:37
  If you're going to sit and dwell about things that, well, didn't happen, you're just going to be caught up in a space where you're not going to move forward anymore.
• 30:49
  That's great advice.
• 30:50
  Nedal, this has been amazing.
• 30:53
  I'm sitting here, I feel very honored to know you and to have met you.
• 30:57
  Thank you for agreeing to be on the podcast.
• 30:59
  I don't think people realize, we see the star, we see Alphonso, but we don't realize the story behind that.
• 31:06
  And I'm sure there's a lot of horror stories, but I also today we've heard an amazing story of an integral person who just wanted what was best for not only a player, but for his family as well.
• 31:21
  And I commend you for that.
• 31:22
  I think that's fantastic.
• 31:23
  We could go for another hour, I'm sure.
• 31:26
  We didn't even talk about some other things, but we got to close her down.
• 31:29
  So thanks everybody.
• 31:30
  Again, we're live at Wing Snob in...
• 31:32
  At Wing Snob, Manning.
• 31:35
  Manning, in Edmonton, in the hood.
• 31:37
  So if you've never been to Wing Snob, you need to come to Wing Snob, because it's amazing.
• 31:41
  Best wings you'll ever have.
• 31:43
  Jennifer and I, to be totally transparent, before we did this, we...
• 31:48
  Before we did this, before we did this podcast, Jennifer and I downed 30 wings.
• 31:53
  We sure did, yeah.
• 31:54
  Between us, not 30 wings each.
• 31:55
  Between us, we downed 30 wings.
• 31:57
  Yeah, you guys didn't even wait for me.
• 31:58
  Well, no, we'll have more now.
• 32:00
  We'll start now.
• 32:01
  Thanks, everybody.
• 32:01
  Appreciate it.
• 32:02
  Thanks, everyone.
• 32:02
  Thanks, Nedal.
• 32:03
  Really appreciate you being with us.
• 32:04
  Thanks for having me.
• 32:05
  Wow.
• 32:06
  Incredible story, eh, Jennifer?
• 32:07
  An amazing story and an amazing person.
• 32:10
  Yeah.
• 32:11
  And we, again, we always hear the story of the athlete, the star, but we never hear the story of the people behind them.
• 32:17
  And yeah, what an incredible story.
• 32:20
  I love the people that we get on this podcast, Cam.
• 32:24
  Me too.
• 32:25
  Jennifer, we get some of the most amazing people who have incredible stories.
• 32:29
  Thank you, everybody, for listening.
• 32:31
  We appreciate it.
• 32:32
  Make sure you tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your co-workers.
• 32:36
  If you don't have any friends, make one so you can tell them about the podcast.
• 32:39
  Even tell your enemies.
• 32:41
  And subscribe.
• 32:42
  Subscribe, subscribe.
• 32:44
  I can't even say it.
• 32:45
  I can't even say it.
• 32:46
  Just subscribe.
• 32:46
  Thanks, everybody.
• 32:47
  Come to a Wing Snob.
• 32:48
  That's right.
• 32:49
  Come to Wing Snob.
• 32:50
  Thank you, Mike Chadi, for letting us do it here.
• 32:52
  Alright, everybody.
• 32:53
  Thanks.
• 32:53
  See you next time.