Mahd Academy Opens Free Football Tryouts in 16 Cities

Mahd Sports Academy has opened free football tryouts across 16 Saudi cities, running from September to December 2026, in a nationwide drive to discover young talent. The tryouts are open to boys born between 2013 and 2017 and involve no participation fees.

The 16 host cities are Abha, Makkah, Tabuk, Jazan, Hail, Qassim, Hafr Al-Batin, Al-Baha, Madinah, Arar, Yanbu, Najran, Sakaka, Wadi Al-Dawasir, Taif and Al-Kharj. Eligible categories for admission include Saudi citizens, children of Saudi mothers, and residents born in the Kingdom.

Registration is handled entirely online through the academy's official tryouts page at mahd.gov.sa/try-outs. Each announcement lists a specific registration period tied to the date, time, age group, gender and city, and applications are only accepted within that window. The academy also uses an AI-based talent discovery platform, known as AI Scout, to help identify football talent.

How the selection process works

After registering, promising candidates receive an invitation to a scheduled performance trial. The first trial lasts one day, followed by a second trial spanning one week. An initial acceptance stage then involves monitoring for a period of one week to one month before official enrollment. Selected players move on to a sports development stage of one full season, around 10 months of training.

Both Mahd Sports Academy and the Sports Talents School are entirely free national initiatives. The expansion to 16 cities in this cycle widens the reach of talent discovery beyond the main urban centers, giving families in smaller cities and regions a genuine pathway into structured football development for their children.

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