In conjunction with Saudi Arabia's submission of the bidding file to host the 2034 World Cup, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) has developed a roadmap to equip a generation to join the 2034 World Cup, which encompasses diverse projects and initiatives concerning team and technical management, to formulate Saudi teams that can attain the goals set over the next decade, and to advance the technical, physical, tactical and mental aspects of future generations involved in the sport. The SAFF announced last week the participation of the Saudi national team (born in 2008) in the Saudi Premier League under 17 years (born in 2007) as an additional team starting from the 2024-2025 sports season, under the supervision of the technical staff of the Green Juniors, in preparation for the 2025 AFC U-17 Asian Cup, which qualifies for the 2025 World Cup, and to participate in many regional tournaments such as the FIFA Arab Cup and the West Asian Football Federation Cup. The decision to have an additional team participate will not affect the points balance of the existing participating teams. The team training and some matches will be held at the Mahd Academy in Riyadh, taking into account the players' educational and family commitments. The SAFF also sent 27 talented under-16-year-old players from the Saudi national team to Spain to attend a traineeship for two seasons as part of the SAFF scholarship program to develop footballers, 'The Future Falcons', to equip them professionally through participation in friendly international tournaments, with the hope of developing professional level players to play in clubs abroad. Last July, Taif saw the conclusion of the first edition of the Regional Teams Championship under 13 years, which involved players born in 2010. Fourteen regional teams participated, represented by 258 players selected from public and private clubs, accredited academies, and regional training centres. The championship aimed to discover talented young players by selecting the most technically p rominent players at the youngest ages in the teams and working on their participation in many friendly tournaments and courses. This selection process provided promising players with the opportunity to hone and develop their skills. The first participation will be at the end of August in Spain, while the SAFF technical committee will hold the Regional Teams Championship for the following sports season for four age groups, from 11 to 14 years old, to reach the largest number of talented players of different age groups. In addition, four regional leagues for beginner players from 11 to 14 years old will be launched in the following sports season to recruit players born between 2010 and 2013. Through these leagues, regional teams will be formed to participate in the regional team championships in their new age groups for the next sports season. The SAFF Competitions Committee has worked on restructuring its competitions for age groups, targeting players from 11 to 18 years old to participate in 64 competit ions as part of the Saudi Football Transformation Strategy 2021. The committee has also worked on spreading competitions more broadly and ensuring the participation of different age groups in a larger number of matches to support national teams. As part of the talent discovery strategy, the SAFF carried out several talent festivals in various regions, supported by technical and team management, in coordination with the Ministry of Education. The SAFF has increased the number of regional training centres from 13 to 17 centres in various regions of the Kingdom to include players born between 2011 and 2014. To discover more talent in Saudi football, the SAFF is working to establish a FIFA program for schools. This program will register talented players in training centres and qualify school teachersin cooperation with the Ministry of Education. In continuation of developing players, the SAFF approved an initiative to support various age groups for the third consecutive season, with a budget estimated at SAR 75 million for public and private clubs and accredited academies. The initiative aims to cope with the changes in the structure of age group competitions, ensure steadfast progress in the work of clubs and academies, and improve outcomes. Source : Saudi Press Agency
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