The Mo Show | Presented by BSF

Al-Hilal and Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly opens up about his remarkable football journey from Metz and Genk to becoming one of Serie A’s top defenders with Napoli, playing for Chelsea in the Premier League, and finding a new home in Saudi Arabia with Al Hilal.


Kouli reflects on how Maurizio Sarri transformed his game, facing racism in European football, the mentality and leadership required at the highest level, and what it really takes to become an elite defender.


He also takes us inside Al Hilal’s historic Club World Cup run, including the unforgettable victory over Manchester City, while sharing his perspective on the growth of the Saudi Pro League, the future of Saudi football, and the next generation of Saudi players.


The conversation goes beyond club football as Koulibaly discusses captaining Senegal, AFCON, mental health, pressure, his relationship with Al Hilal fans, life in Saudi Arabia, his father’s influence, and the legacy he hopes to leave behind when his playing career comes to an end.


0:00 Intro
4:53 The Sacrifices of Professional Football
6:14 Rediscovering the Joy of Football
9:44 Thriving Under Pressure at the Biggest Clubs
12:20 Napoli: The Turning Point
17:09 How Sarri Changed the Way He Sees Football
19:14 Facing Racism in Football
24:16 Why Become a Defender
28:57 Communication, Leadership Defending as a Team
33:45 Performing When You’re Not at 100%
35:21 Playing in Saudi Arabia’s Extreme Heat
38:45 The Penalty That Taught Koulibaly a New Rule
41:03 Al Hilal: From an Unbeaten Season to No Trophies
44:13 Representing Saudi Football at the Club World Cup
46:20 The Historic Victory Against Manchester City
51:34 Changing the Perception of Saudi Football
53:37 Al Hilal’s Most Underrated Players
59:07 Developing the Next Generation of Saudi Talent
1:05:30 The Real Salem Al-Dawsari
1:09:24 Mental Health, Motivation Enjoying Football
1:12:47 Koulibaly’s Message to Al Hilal Supporters
1:16:00 The Red Card in the 2024 King’s Cup Final
1:19:34 Captaining Senegal Representing a Nation
1:24:36 The AFCON Controversy
1:28:26 Investing in Saudi Arabia Life Beyond Football
1:30:28 How Football and Defending Has Changed
1:33:22 Greatest Idol
1:34:35 Closing Thoughts

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Abdulaziz is the CEO and Secretary General of the Saudi Olympic Paralympic Committee, and one of the key figures shaping the Kingdom’s sporting future. With a career spanning leadership roles at the Ministry of Sport, Saudi Sports Company, the Saudi Sailing Federation and Saudi Esports Federation, Abdulaziz brings a unique perspective on how Saudi sport has evolved and where it is heading next.

The conversation explores what it really takes to build Olympic champions from grassroots participation, scholarships and elite training centers to selecting podium-potential sports, funding federations and making difficult decisions around athletes and resources.

They also discuss the rapid rise of Saudi women in sport, why Abdulaziz believes the Kingdom’s first Olympic gold could come from a female athlete, the integration of Olympic and Paralympic sport, naturalization and international talent, the future of the Saudi Games, and the long-term road toward Riyadh 2034. It’s a conversation about ambition, patience, leadership and what it takes to build a sporting nation capable of competing with the best in the world.

0:00 Intro
3:31 Building Saudi Arabia into an Olympic Competitor
6:30 The Biggest Challenge in Developing Saudi Sports
9:41 Inside Saudi Arabia’s Elite Training Centers
12:37 Discovering Saudi Talent the Athlete Scholarship Program17:42 Building a Nationwide Network of Training Centers
21:44 Building Saudi Arabia’s Olympic Talent Pipeline
23:06 Which Sports Could Win Saudi Arabia Olympic Medals?
27:18 What Saudi Arabia Can Learn from Olympic Powerhouses32:23 What Saudi Sports Still Needs to Improve3
4:53 How Young Should Children Start Playing Sports?
38:46 How Saudi Sports Federations Are Funded
42:13 Planning for Los Angeles, Brisbane Beyond
44:27 Saudi Arabia’s Road to the 2034 Asian Games
49:11 The Rise of Women’s Sports in Saudi Arabia
53:07 Why Saudi Arabia Invests So Heavily in Sports
57:09 Why Competing Against Asia Makes Saudi Arabia Stronger58:08 Leadership Lessons from Saudi Sports
1:00:42 The Legacy Abdulaziz Baeshen Wants to Leave
1:02:13 Closing Thoughts

Jeff Hoffman is an award-winning global entrepreneur, proven CEO, bestselling author and speaker who has played a role in some of the world’s best-known startups, including Priceline.com/Booking.com and uBid.com.


Over his career, he has founded multiple companies, led both public and private businesses, and worked across industries ranging from technology and entertainment to gaming. His work has also earned recognition beyond business, including producing a Grammy Award-winning jazz album and executive producing an Emmy Award-winning television show.


Today, Jeff is Chairman of the Global Entrepreneurship Network, which supports entrepreneurs across 200 countries, and serves as Chairman of the Global Gaming League. He has advised entrepreneurs, corporations and governments around the world, working with organizations including the White House, U.S. State Department and United Nations on entrepreneurship and economic growth initiatives. He has spoken in more than 70 countries and is the author of SCALE, a guide to growing businesses.


Beyond business, Jeff is the founder and CEO of World Youth Horizons, a nonprofit providing homes, education, food and healthcare to children in need around the world. His career has increasingly focused on using entrepreneurship not simply to build successful companies, but as a tool to create opportunity and positive impact at scale.

0:00 Introduction
5:30 From My First Startup to Transforming the Travel Industry
8:20 Challenging the Status Quo and Rethinking Travel
13:57 The Secret to Innovation and Building Disruptive Companies17:49 From Priceline to Booking.com: Transforming Online Travel20:10 How the Internet Revolutionized the Travel Industry
23:40 Legacy, Impact, and the Difference We Leave Behind
27:01 Redefining Success Beyond Money, Fame, and Status
32:43 What Do You Want People to Say About You?
35:02 What Separates Global Companies From Small Businesses?37:05 Why Great Teams Matter More Than a Star CEO
42:30 Why You Should Hire People Smarter Than You
45:04 Which Industries Will Be Transformed in the Next Few Years?49:50 AI and the Future of Education
52:36 Experiential Learning vs. Memorization: How We Should Learn
56:19 Saudi Arabia’s Transformation and Vision for the Future57:45 The Future of Tourism and the Red Sea
59:10 Final Thoughts: Innovation, Leadership, and Legacy

Jeff Hoffman is an award-winning global entrepreneur, proven CEO, bestselling author and speaker who has played a role in some of the world’s best-known startups, including Priceline.com/Booking.com and uBid.com.

Over his career, he has founded multiple companies, led both public and private businesses, and worked across industries ranging from technology and entertainment to gaming. His work has also earned recognition beyond business, including producing a Grammy Award-winning jazz album and executive producing an Emmy Award-winning television show.

Today, Jeff is Chairman of the Global Entrepreneurship Network, which supports entrepreneurs across 200 countries, and serves as Chairman of the Global Gaming League. He has advised entrepreneurs, corporations and governments around the world, working with organizations including the White House, U.S. State Department and United Nations on entrepreneurship and economic growth initiatives. He has spoken in more than 70 countries and is the author of SCALE, a guide to growing businesses.

Beyond business, Jeff is the founder and CEO of World Youth Horizons, a nonprofit providing homes, education, food and healthcare to children in need around the world. His career has increasingly focused on using entrepreneurship not simply to build successful companies, but as a tool to create opportunity and positive impact at scale.

Margery Kraus is the Founder and Executive Chairman of APCO Worldwide, a company she started in 1984 as a small subsidiary of a Washington, D.C. law firm and built into a global consultancy with roughly 1,200 people across 35 locations.

Her story, though, starts much earlier. The child of immigrants whose family fled Nazi Europe, passed through Cuba and eventually rebuilt their lives in America, Margery grew up around resilience, risk and starting again.

We talk about how that shaped the entrepreneur she became, why she refused to listen when people told her “you can’t do that,” and what it was really like building a global company while raising a family.

We also get into the 2004 management buyout that helped make APCO one of the world’s largest majority women-owned consulting firms, how you step back from leading a company you built without really letting go, and what four decades advising some of the world’s most influential leaders have taught her about who thrives under pressure and who doesn’t.

Recorded in Dalian, China, during the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions, we also look at the world right now: China’s place in the global economy, shifting trade relationships and what the rest of the world may be getting wrong about this moment.

And then there’s AI. Margery says it’s the thing that keeps her up at night. For someone who has built a career and a business around human trust, judgment and relationships, I wanted to know why.

A fascinating conversation with someone who has spent more than 40 years building, adapting and refusing to stand still.

Special thanks to the World Economic Forum for bringing us together in Dalian.