MADRID — The most promising young footballers in Saudi Arabia are set to benefit from an exciting new partnership between the Saudi Scholarship for Developing Football Talent Program and Spanish club Real Sociedad, from San Sebastián, one of the most historic clubs in La Liga. For many months during the last year, Saudi’s best players, aged over 18 years and under 21 years old, known as the ‘Future Falcons’, have been training at an elite performance center in Salou, Spain, by world class coaches and competing against leading European teams thanks to a four-year football scholarship system created to improve and develop talent to the highest possible standards. Now, thanks to the new agreement with Real Sociedad, which further extends the number of partners of the Saudi program, members of the Future Falcons will have future opportunities to immerse themselves with and compete against one of the most professional clubs in Europe, Real Sociedad. The coaching set up of the club is highly regarded having produced homegrown players like Spain’s former World-Cup winner Xabi Alonso and is responsible for helping the club claim 2 Spanish Liga titles, 2 Spanish Copas del Rey, and 1 Spanish Supercopa during their illustrious 110-year history. A more recent success that is poised to strengthen relationship further lies in the fact that Real Sociedad have reached the Copa del Rey final, ensuring the club’s participation in the next Spanish Supercopa, which will take place in Saudi Arabia for the second successive season. Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al Faisal, chairman of the Ministry of Sports of Saudi Arabia, said, “This new partnership is a sign of the success of the Future Falcon’s Academy to date, and one of many others that will come in the near future to continue strengthening the program as we enter into its second year. “For these young players, experience is everything. They are learning their profession. That’s why establishing relationships with the right partners is vital and why we’re so pleased to confirm an agreement with Real Sociedad, a club that we look forward to welcoming to the Kingdom in the near future during the Supercopa.” “Beyond being one of the most historic football clubs in Spain; with a passion for the beautiful game, it is well-known for taking special care of developing young talents up to their full potential. I am sure that this partnership will help nurture the ideal pathway for all our players, giving them the opportunity advance and learn from one of the top clubs.” The partnership covers a wide array of different lines of work including young Saudi talents direct access for training with Real Sociedad youth teams and being able to take part in Real Sociedad friendly matches. The Saudi Scholarship for Developing Football Talent Program is an investment by the Ministry of Sports of Saudi into the future of Saudi Arabian football. The Scholarship Program has been launched with the aim of providing an elite development platform to the Kingdom’s most talented young football players over 18 and under 21 years old. During the 4-year period, the players will also join, on a loan basis, the most appropriate teams in Europe depending on their profile and development needs, as a last step before returning back to their teams of origin in Saudi Arabia. — SG