Former Dunfermline Athletic Striker Mark Burchill Appointed Director of Recruitment at Saudi Giants Al-Hilal

Former Dunfermline Athletic, Celtic and Scotland striker Mark Burchill has been appointed as Director of Recruitment at Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal.

The 46-year-old has made the move to Riyadh after leaving his role as Head of Technical Scouting / Chief Scout at English Premier League side Liverpool, following former Sporting Director - and fellow former Scotland cap, Richard Hughes - to Saudi Arabia.

A statement on Al-Hilal’s official website confirmed the appointment:

“The appointment of Hughes came as part of Al-Hilal’s efforts to strengthen its football system and develop its sporting structure with specialised expertise. This will contribute to raising the quality of technical work, developing recruitment and scouting processes, and enhancing integration across all aspects related to the football sector.”

The move reunites Burchill with Hughes, who first brought him to AFC Bournemouth and then to Anfield in March 2024.

Born Mark James Burchill in Broxburn on 18th August 1980, the 5ft 8in centre-forward came through the ranks at Celtic, where he made 62 appearances and scored 25 goals.

He would go on to have a 17-year, 14-club, professional career that took in spells in England, Cyprus and Thailand, including Birmingham City, Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Wigan Athletic, Rotherham United and Portsmouth.

On loan from Portsmouth in 2003, Burchill made 11 appearances for Dundee, including featuring in their Scottish Cup Final defeat to Rangers.

However, his best spell as a player came in West Fife. Burchill arrived at Dunfermline Athletic in 2005 and quickly became a firm favourite at East End Park. According to Transfermarkt, he made 97 appearances for the Pars – more than for any other club in his career – scoring 30 goals - again, more than for any other club in his career - before moving to Rotherham United in 2008.

In total, Burchill also earned 6 senior caps for Scotland, making his debut on 5 October 1999 under Craig Brown aged 19, having previously scored 6 goals in 7 appearances for the Scotland U21s.

He retired from playing on 23rd December 2015.

Burchill moved quickly into coaching, starting at Livingston where he served as Assistant Manager from March 2013, Caretaker Manager from December 2014 (in which he managed 21 matches for the West Lothian side) and Player-Coach from July to December 2015 (24 games).

He then worked abroad as Assistant Manager at Slovakian giants Slovan Bratislava between July 2016 and June 2018, working under Ivan Vukomanovic, Martin Sevela and others, as well as taking on the role of Recruitment Leader.

His scouting career breakthrough came at AFC Bournemouth. He joined as a Scout on 1st February 2017 and was promoted to Chief Scout on 1st August 2019, a role he held until 21st March 2024.

He followed Hughes to Liverpool on 22nd March 2024 as Head of Technical Scouting, listed by Transfermarkt as Chief Scout, before now making the high-profile move to the Saudi Pro League.

Al-Hilal’s official profile for Burchill also notes that he holds a UEFA Pro Licence along with UEFA A & B Licences and led the Technical Staff at Livingston.

For Al-Hilal, one of the most decorated clubs in Asian football and a major player in the Saudi Pro League’s recent recruitment drive, the appointment of Hughes and Burchill signals a move to a more data-driven, European scouting model, as the club looks to maintain its domestic dominance and push for AFC Champions League success.