Tuesday: Qualifiers for the Second Edition of the U-13 Regional Championship Finals Kick Off

2025-06-30
21:03:44

The qualifiers for the second edition of the U-13 Regional Championship Finals kick off tomorrow, Tuesday, and will be held from July 1 to 9, 2025.

The qualifiers will be held in four regions: the Eastern Province, Asir, Taif, and Al-Jouf. The Eastern Province will host matches between Al-Ahsa and Hafar Al-Batin. In Asir, the qualifiers will be between Najran, Jazan, and Asir. In Taif, the qualifiers will feature teams from Makkah, Madinah, Taif, and Al-Baha. In Al-Jouf, the qualifiers will also include teams from the Northern Borders, Tabuk, Hail, and Al-Jouf.

The four top-ranked teams from each group will qualify from these qualifiers to participate in the finals of the second edition of the Under-13 Regional Championship, which will be held from July 13 to 23 in Taif Governorate. They will join the teams from Riyadh, Jeddah, Qassim, and Eastern Province, which qualified directly due to their participation in a greater number of matches in the Under-13 Youth League.

The tournament draw will be held according to the tier system after the qualified teams are complete, as the teams will be divided into two groups of four teams each, with the top two teams advancing.

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) aims to use this tournament to achieve one of its strategic objectives: developing and discovering talent at an early age, and working to monitor and develop them according to specialized programs to form the nucleus of future national teams.

The Regional Championship will see the participation of 442 players representing 17 regional teams, selected from public and private clubs, regional training centers, and private academies that participated in the Under-13 Youth League last season.

The tournament matches will be led by approximately 12 referees, who also officiate league matches in the age groups. The referees' committee decided that this tournament would be led by young referees, helping them develop and grow in this field.

It's worth noting that the Jazan national team won the title of the first edition of the Under-13 Regional Championship, held last year with the participation of 14 teams led by 28 national coaches and 358 players. The Riyadh team finished second, and the Jeddah team finished third.