How do you run a football academy in Saudi Arabia without fee and attendance chaos?

Updated: 2026-09-19 · Dawwerni team

Football academy management software in Saudi Arabia should split players into groups by age and level, take attendance with one tap, and show a monthly fees board of who has paid and who is late, with polite WhatsApp reminders and a receipt for every payment. Add player cards, badges, player of the month, a parent portal, medical certificate tracking and a trial-session poster with a QR code to recruit new players.

Why do most academies struggle off the pitch, not on it?

Answer: coaches know how to coach, but fees, attendance and parent messages are handled through WhatsApp groups, a notebook and memory. At the start of every month the same question comes back: who has paid and who has not? A group message goes out that embarrasses the parents who paid and misses the ones who are late.

Saudi Arabia has its own rhythm. The heat pushes summer training to the evening, after maghrib; the summer holiday is camp season; and in Ramadan sessions move to after taraweeh or pause. An academy in Dammam, Khobar or Riyadh often rents pitches by the hour with changing slots, so it needs a system that keeps schedules and fees clear for everyone.

For academies in the Eastern Province, there are nearby examples on the Eastern Province loyalty and growth page.

What does Dawwerni offer sports academies?

Answer: the Dawwerni sports academy module brings together players and groups, one-tap roll call, a monthly fees board, receipts, player cards, badges, a parent portal, medical certificates and birthdays. It runs in the browser on the coach’s phone, with no app.

Groups and one-tap roll call

Group players by birth year (U8, U10, U12…) or by level. At the pitch, the coach opens the group list on the phone and taps each name: present or absent. After a month you can see who is missing sessions before they quit, and you can talk to the parents early.

Monthly fees board and polite WhatsApp reminders

One board shows every player: paid, late or exempt. With one tap you send the late parent an individual, friendly WhatsApp reminder, not a group message that embarrasses everyone. Every payment, whether cash, card or bank transfer, gets a receipt sent by WhatsApp.

Medical certificates and birthdays

Record each player’s medical certificate date and an alert appears before it expires, which matters before tournaments and camps. Birthday reminders let you congratulate the player in front of teammates, a small touch that children and parents remember.

How do you keep young players motivated for a whole season?

Answer: with progress they can see. The Dawwerni player card climbs from bronze to a special card, much like the football game cards children already know, and players earn badges for attendance, commitment and sportsmanship.

Player of the month is announced in front of the group and shared in the parent portal, so the father forwards it to the whole family. Keep the criteria public and fair (attendance, effort and teamwork, not skill alone), so beginners never feel the award is reserved for someone else.

What do parents see in the portal?

Answer: parents see their child’s fee status and receipts, attendance, player card and badges, and the group schedule, without messaging the coach every day.

• The session timetable and any time change caused by heat or pitch availability.
• Monthly fee status and past receipts.
• The monthly attendance record.
• The player card, badges and the player of the month title if earned.
• A medical certificate expiry alert.

What does a fees board look like in practice?

Answer: here is an illustrative example with assumed figures: an academy with 60 players in 4 groups and a monthly fee of 300 SAR. These are not market averages; use your own numbers.

How do you recruit new players with a trial session?

Answer: print the Dawwerni trial-session poster with its QR code and place it at the local grocery, nearby schools, the club and, where allowed, community notice boards, then share it in your stories. A parent scans the code and books a free trial with the child’s name, age and phone number, and the details land in the academy’s CRM instead of on a scrap of paper.

At the pitch, waiting parents can scan a QR code and play a short football-themed game such as a spin wheel, winning a prize you choose for a future visit, like an extra session or a discounted training shirt. After playing they are invited, optionally, to follow the academy on Instagram and leave an honest Google review; the prize never depends on the review, and every parent gets the same invitation. Module details are on the Dawwerni page for sports clubs and academies, and more ideas are in the guide to loyalty and member engagement in sports clubs.

How do you plan for summer, camps and the heat?

Answer: move summer sessions to the evening once the heat breaks, and post the new timetable in the portal a week ahead. A summer camp during the school holiday is a chance to recruit new players, so set it up as a separate group with a clear fee and duration.

If you run a prize draw or a competition open to the public, it may need a permit from the Ministry of Commerce, so check with the authority or a lawyer before launching.

What does it cost, and how do you start?

Answer: Dawwerni in Saudi Arabia costs 750 SAR a year for Standard and 900 SAR for Premium, with a 7-day free trial; academies with several branches get a quote. Modules are activated by business type and plan, so confirm on the call that the academy module is included. Estimate what a player who drops out costs you with the lost-customers calculator, and see the Dawwerni Saudi Arabia page.

1. Add players, split them into groups and record a parent’s phone number for each.
2. Set monthly fees and exemptions, and mark who has paid this month.
3. Enter medical certificate dates and birthdays.
4. Train coaches on one-tap roll call from the phone at the first session.
5. Send the parent portal link, then the first round of polite reminders.
6. Print the trial-session poster and share it before the holiday or the new season.