Saudi Arabian sports officials on Monday unveiled in Riyadh a new project to discover and nurture young sports talent in the Kingdom, according to reports.
The Mahd Sports Academy will offer more than 20 sports disciplines to young Saudi girls and boys from ages 6 to 14. Planners said the academy is “set to be one of the largest academy projects worldwide.”
Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Sports, described the project as a “dream step,” according to The National.
Abdulla bin Faisal Hammad, who will serve as executive manager of the academy, said one of the reasons behind Mahd was to identify more talent at a younger age, noting that there were more than 1.7 million children in elementary school who engage in some sporting activity, but their talents go undiscovered until until 14, when it is too late to fully nurture them.
“It is hard at this age to create sporting champions, and if we can connect with them earlier and provide them with better and more training, we will be able to create better players,” he said.
Fifa also endorsed the project, with its president, Gianni Infantino, saying that he believed the project “would positively affect football, seeing that it is Saudi Arabia’s most popular sport,” according to the National.
The Kingdom hopes to complete the physical academy by 2025.
Fostering the health and wellness of Saudis of all ages is a key part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic and social reform plans.
