Al Wasl Football Company officially announced the signing of Portuguese coach Luís Castro to lead the Emperor, succeeding Serbian coach Milos Milojevic.
Castro, 63 years old, began his coaching career in Portugal with Agueda, Mealhada, Estarreja, Sanjoanense, Penafiel, then Porto and Rio Ave, followed by Chaves and Vitória de Guimarães.
Castro’s first experience outside Portugal was with Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine during the 2019 season, where he won the league title in 2020. In 2021, he coached Al-Duhail in Qatar and won the Emir of Qatar Cup in 2022, before moving to Botafogo in Brazil for the 2022–2023 season, and then took charge of Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia for the 2023–2024 season.