Kings League MENA: Four teams set for Riyadh showdown as first Split champion awaits

The first Kings League MENA Split 1 champion will be crowned on Friday, 30 October, when FWZ, Red Zone, Ultra Chmicha and 3BS meet in the Final Four at Coal Arena in Riyadh.

The one-night event will feature both semi-finals and the final, with the tournament guaranteed to have a new winner after reigning champions DR7 were eliminated by Jordanian side 3BS on penalties in Monday’s quarter-final.

The first full Kings League MENA season began on 18 September with 10 teams representing Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt. The competition, founded by Spanish football star and entrepreneur Gerard Pique, combines competitive seven-a-side football with teams led by digital creators.

Across nine league rounds and the quarter-finals, 48 matches have produced 489 goals.

Kuwait’s FWZ, led by content creator Fawaz, face Jordanian club Red Zone, captained by Maherco, in the opening semi-final. FWZ reached the Final Four automatically after finishing top of the league with seven wins from nine games.

They began the campaign with four successive victories, including wins over DR7 and Red Zone, before recording the biggest victory in Kings League MENA history when they beat ABO FC 13-3 in round six. Igor Campos leads their attack, while Fouad Al Omrani and David Louiza rank second and third in the assists standings with eight and seven respectively. Team vice-president Henoudi Osom has also scored a president’s penalty.

Red Zone enter the tie after three consecutive victories. They overturned a two-goal deficit against Ultra Chmicha in Matchball Mode to win 6-5 in round eight, then defeated Rising Peaks 8-5 and RA2 5-3 in the quarter-finals.

“Gil Vidal” scored the opening goal and later the decisive winner in the victory over RA2. He is the tournament’s leading scorer among the remaining players, with 13 goals and three MVP awards, while Egypt international Mohamed Abdel Fattah adds further attacking threat.

The second semi-final pits Morocco’s Ultra Chmicha, led by Elias Malki, against Jordan’s 3BS, led by Absi.

Ultra Chmicha won their first five matches and finished third in the league after beating leaders FWZ 8-6 in round nine. They then edged Egyptian side Turbo 7-6 in a classic quarter-final, with Marc Granero scoring four goals, including the winner. Co-president Yassine Bougassa scored the president’s penalty.

Former Belgium international Yannick Carrasco joined Ultra Chmicha as vice-president earlier in the season. Dani Linares leads the assists chart with nine, Granero has won four MVP awards and Walid Al Jaadi tops the dribbling rankings with 63 successful attempts.

3BS took the more difficult route to the semi-finals. They lost the opening Jordanian derby 7-1 to Red Zone and only secured a quarter-final place on the final night of the league phase by beating DR7 on penalties.

They defeated the holders again four days later, helped by French goalkeeper JMK, who played through an injury and saved several penalties, including the decisive attempt. JMK leads the goalkeeping standings with 79 saves, while fellow Frenchman Moussa Sao has a competition-record eight MVP awards.

The semi-finals repeat league fixtures: FWZ beat Red Zone 7-6 in round two, while Ultra Chmicha defeated 3BS on penalties in round four. 3BS later ended FWZ’s unbeaten start with a 4-3 win in round five.

A Jordanian final remains possible, while FWZ aim to take the trophy to Kuwait and Ultra Chmicha hope to win it for Morocco.

The schedule, in Saudi Arabia time, is:

– 20:00 – FWZ v Red Zone – 21:00 – Ultra Chmicha v 3BS – 22:30 – Split 1 final

The matches will be available through the official Kings League MENA channels on Kick, YouTube, TikTok and Twitch, as well as the team presidents’ personal streams. MBC Action and Shahid will provide live coverage across the Middle East and North Africa. Tickets are available through WeBook.