Sports Talk Media Exclusive: Mandela Award winner Dourekas speaks on time with Marinakis, Nottingham Forest, Neom
When the spotlight illuminated the Mandela Awards 2025 gala in Bari, Italy, one figure drew particular intrigue from the world of football: Kyriakos Dourekas
President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Isidoros Kouvelos, with Vangelis Marinakis, owner of Capital Maritime & Trading Corp. Photo: Hellenic Olympic Committee
After leaving Forest for Saudi Arabian side Neom, the former Forest DOF admitted there is still something he misses. That something is Evangelos Marinakis.
Kyriakos Dourekas has built a career inside football’s engine rooms. He prefers planning rooms to touchlines. He prefers structure to spotlight. Yet his influence continues to surface wherever ambition meets execution. After leaving Nottingham Forest for Saudi Arabian side Neom, the former Forest director of football admitted there is still something he misses.
That something is Evangelos Marinakis.
Despite calling his move to Saudi Arabia “exciting,” Dourekas made it clear that his bond with Forest’s owner remains strong.
“When Mr Marinakis wants something, it will happen, believe me,” Dourekas told BBC Sport. “His ambition is so big. Whenever he has something in his mind, and it’s his target, it will be done.”
Building Forest’s Future, Not Living in Its Past
Dourekas joined Nottingham Forest in 2018 from Olympiacos, another Marinakis-owned club. He arrived with a clear understanding of the owner’s expectations and belief system. That clarity helped Forest achieve something the club had chased for more than two decades.
Promotion to the Premier League in 2022 ended a 23-year absence from the top flight.
“A great man, entrepreneur and leader,” Dourekas said of Marinakis. “When I went there, I believed we could bring Nottingham Forest to the Premier League because I knew I had him as a leader.”
Dourekas believes Forest’s history worked against the club before that reset. “We were a little too much in the past,” he said. “Players coming in didn’t feel important, so we had a motto with Marinakis: ‘We respect the past, but we create the future.’ We wanted to create a Premier League future.”
Recruitment followed that philosophy. Decisions came through a collective process that included Marinakis, his son Miltiadis, the data department, and then director Ross Wilson. Structure mattered. Alignment mattered more.
The Leap to NEOM and a Blank Canvas
In July 2024, Dourekas made a move that surprised many inside English football. He accepted a role with Neom, a club being built from scratch inside Saudi Arabia’s ambitious megaproject on the Red Sea coast.
“I went to Marinakis and said I had an exciting new proposal,” Dourekas said. “It was my sixth year and he had a strong staff in place.”
The challenge appealed to his builder’s mindset.
“We are building Neom as a club from the ground up,” he said. “We only have one pitch. No buildings. No infrastructure. Everything is built to help not just now, but to last.”
Neom’s vision centers on youth development. The club fields the youngest team in its league and places a heavy emphasis on developing Saudi players. Dourekas hopes that approach sets a precedent others will follow.
Recognition Beyond Results
Dourekas’ work has earned recognition beyond wins and promotions. He recently received the Mandela Award for Contribution to Sport. The honor recognized his belief that football can drive cultural exchange, social purpose, and long-term development.
The award reflects a career defined by foundations rather than headlines.
From Olympiacos to Nottingham Forest to the Saudi desert, Dourekas continues to chase the same idea. Respect the past. Build the future. And do it with purpose.
You can read more this story as well as Nottingham Forest, Evangelos Marinakis, Kyriakos Dourekas, and all of world soccer on the Sports Talk Media Network, which includes Sports Talk Florida, Sports Talk United, and many other sites around the country.
Sean Miller
Sports Talk Media Network
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