The Saudi Football Federation Confirms the Homegrown Players System in the Saudi League During Winter

The Saudi Football Federation announced the confirmation of the homegrown players system during the upcoming winter transfer window, which runs from January 5 to February 2, with no changes to the rules in effect since summer 2024.

The Saudi sports newspaper Al-Riyadiyah clarified that the Al-Ittihad club management decided not to change the system for homegrown players, following previous meetings with representatives of the 18 Saudi Pro League clubs to discuss the possibility of modifying the mechanism or continuing with it.

The committee in charge had set regulations for registering non-Saudi players under the age of 21, which will be implemented starting from the 2024–2025 season, to ensure the participation of young players in an organized manner and in accordance with the specified age requirements.

According to the regulations, the club is allowed to field the same players born in the specified year even if they exceed the age limit, provided that all ten non-Saudi players remain with the team without any changes.

If the club wishes to replace a player within the same age category during the winter transfer window, the new player must meet the age requirement specified for that season, to ensure that clubs comply with the regulations.

In the case of releasing non-Saudi players who have exceeded the age limit during the summer transfer window, new players must be registered with the same required age, in accordance with the regulations of the Professionalism Committee and the status of players and competitions.

This decision comes to provide stability for clubs in preparing their player rosters during the winter transfer window and to ensure that no sudden changes occur to the homegrown player system, which has proven successful since its implementation.