Riyadh
Riyadh is a city that plays football after dark. When the afternoon heat drops, rooftop courts, fenced pitches in residential districts and floodlit futsal halls fill with teams of five. The MCC Riyadh tournament in 2027 gives those teams three grounds, a five-week Pitch Round from 9 April and a path that can end at the World Final on 7 July.
Three grounds, three champions
Two halves of 15 minutes on a stop clock. Every team plays three group matches in a group of four, and the top two go into the playoffs, where a tie level after two halves goes to penalties. Five weeks of football on each ground leave Riyadh with three Pitch Champions, and each goes straight to the Country Championship.
North Riyadh
64 to 128 teams · $20,000 to its Pitch Champion
East Riyadh
64 to 128 teams · $20,000 to its Pitch Champion
South-West Riyadh
64 to 128 teams · $20,000 to its Pitch Champion
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Futsal and fenced pitches across the capital
Small-sided football in Riyadh is mostly an evening habit. Friends book a fenced pitch by the hour, companies run internal futsal leagues, and university teams play on campus courts once the sun is down. Many of those squads have never had a bracket to enter that reaches beyond their own friend group.
The MCC format fits that habit. Each match fills a 40-minute slot with two 15-minute halves and a clock that stops for dead balls, so a full group evening stays on schedule. Squads can name up to nine players, which covers the usual rotation of a Riyadh team with a few members away on any given week.
North, East and South-West: how the grounds map
Riyadh is a very wide city, and a drive across it can take an hour at the wrong time. The three grounds are drawn to cut that down. North Riyadh covers districts such as Al Malqa, Hittin and Al Yasmin along the northern stretch of King Fahd Road. East Riyadh takes in the neighbourhoods toward Al Rawdah and the Eastern Ring Road. South-West Riyadh covers the southern and south-western districts, including the area around Al Shifa.
Each ground holds 64 to 128 teams and runs its own round, so a squad plays near home. The Riyadh Metro and the ring roads help with the longer trips. The venue for each ground is confirmed through the pitch owner programme and shown on this page once its agreement is signed.
April and May weather, then Jeddah and Dammam-Khobar
April and early May in Riyadh are warm and dry, with daytime highs often well into the thirties and cooler evenings. The Pitch Round opens on 9 April with group football on three weekends (the 9th to 11th, the 16th to 18th and the 23rd to 25th), knockout play starts on 30 April and every ground finishes with its final on 9 May 2027.
A Pitch Champion earns $20,000 and a place at the Saudi Arabia Country Championship, 28 to 30 May, where Riyadh's winners meet the champions of Jeddah and Dammam-Khobar. The continental stage follows, and the World Final is on 7 July 2027.
What sets MCC apart from a local league
Riyadh has plenty of clubs, academies and company leagues, and nothing here replaces them. MCC adds a single national and then global ladder for amateur teams, with one rule set from the first group match to the final. Each team holds one Team License and names a Team President, who answers for the squad.
Penalties settle any level playoff tie, at every stage, so no match depends on a coin or a count of corners. A zero-tolerance conduct policy applies to everyone, and referees, assistants and fourth officials are recruited by MCC, never chosen by the teams.
The road out of Riyadh
- 01 · 9 Apr - 9 May 2027
Pitch Round
Groups of four on every pitch, three group matches each. The top two of every group go into the playoffs, and penalties settle a level playoff tie.
$20,000 - 02 · 28-30 May 2027
Country Championship
The Pitch Champions of each country play for the national title: two halves of 15 minutes, a league table, then the playoffs.
$150,000 - 03 · 2027
Continental Championship
Country Champions compete within their region for a place on the world stage.
$500,000 - 04 · 7 Jul 2027
World Championship
A five-team mini-league, then the World Final: two halves of 15 minutes, penalties if level. One MCC World Champion.
$5,000,000
Questions from Riyadh
How does a team enter MCC in Riyadh?
Register on this site and pick one of Riyadh's three grounds: North Riyadh, East Riyadh, South-West Riyadh. One Team License per team: USD 1,200 for one year until 1 March 2027 (then 2,500), or 5,000 for three years. Payment and KYC verification follow the application.
When does the tournament start in Riyadh?
The Pitch Round runs 9 April to 9 May 2027 on all three Riyadh grounds. The group matches are played on 9-11, 16-18 and 23-25 April, the playoffs from 30 April, and each ground's final on 9 May. Pitch Champions go straight to the Country Championship on 28-30 May 2027.
How many teams can play in Riyadh?
Up to 384: each of the three grounds takes up to 128 teams, and each needs a minimum of 64 to run its round. A full ground puts an entry on its waitlist instead of turning it away.
What can a Riyadh team win?
$20,000 per Pitch Champion, $150,000 for the Saudi Arabia title, $500,000 continental and $5,000,000 for the World Champion - plus championship rings from Country level up.
Can a company or university squad enter the Riyadh tournament?
Yes, as long as the players are amateurs. A workplace, a university department or a neighbourhood group can each register a team with a Team License and name a Team President. MCC is for amateur teams only.
Who is the Team President on a Riyadh squad?
Each team names one Team President on its entry. MCC treats that person as answerable for the squad, so pick someone reachable throughout the Pitch Round, which runs from 9 April to 9 May 2027.
Does Riyadh futsal experience carry over to MCC 5-a-side?
Largely, yes. The squad size of up to nine, the short halves and the stop clock will feel familiar to futsal players. Check the match rules on the site for pitch size and any differences, because the ground surface depends on the confirmed venue.
Which Riyadh ground suits a team from Al Malqa or Hittin?
North Riyadh covers Al Malqa, Hittin and Al Yasmin, so it is the natural fit for a squad from those districts. You choose the ground when you enter, and each ground crowns its own Pitch Champion.
Also hosting in Saudi Arabia
Nearby in Middle East and Caucasus
Claim a pitch in Riyadh
One Team License per team, for one year or three years. Squads of up to 9 are built in the MCC app after licensing. Registration takes the team, its coach and its Team President.
- USD1,200One year
- 5,000Three years