Ball District x MDLBEAST Radio 3x3 Tournament, Jeddah

Ball District came out of a problem its founders lived themselves. Players put in months of training and preparation, then the competitive season arrives and disappears fast. In women’s basketball, faster still.

Elaf Alsharief and Dania Banaja, both players, teamed up with Coach Anvar Yarulin, an experienced coach from Russia. Different sides of the game, same idea: build more chances to actually play.

Where Ball District started

The plan was a competitive platform outside the traditional league, open to different nationalities, academies, clubs and levels. Pro, academy, or someone who just loves the game, you get a place to compete.

Then the vision grew. Tournaments were the start, not the goal. Ball District set out to build a community where players, coaches, fans and brands find each other in one place, and where local brands grow alongside the scene rather than just paying to appear beside it.

The fourth tour

For tour four, Ball District and MDLBEAST Radio built the MDLBEAST Radio x Ball District 3X3 Tournament, with three categories under one roof: Men, Women and U19 Boys.

Different generations and backgrounds on the same court, with basketball, music, local brands and the crowd all part of the day. The energy came off the court as much as on it.

The champions:

Men: Swish
Women: KD
U19 Boys: Team TTTT

26 teams. 103 players. More than 500 in the building.

The partners behind the District

MDLBEAST Radio came in as Ball District’s main event partner and biggest sponsor for the tournament, bringing the music, the energy and the wider community into the building.

AYAM Longevity Clinic holds a special place in this story. AYAM backed the idea from day one as the only sponsor of the first tournament, and has stayed with it since. Special mention to Dr. Yusra Alsaadi, who believed in the vision from the earliest stage.

Brew92 keeps showing up too. Coffee has always brought people together in Saudi Arabia, and that social pull fits an event already built on connection. They also contributed gifts for the winners.

Local brand Ektimal supplied the jerseys for every player in the tournament. The quality became part of the experience, with players genuinely hyped to pull them on. Another example of a local brand living inside the tournament instead of around it.

More partners rounded out the day. Burger Jeddah fed the referees and volunteers, Soft Touch provided locally made natural gifts for the Women’s champions, and Born Winner and GoFit joined Brew92 on gifts for the MVPs.

The Saudi Basketball Federation supported the tournament with referees, keeping the competition properly structured.

The people behind the experience

Plenty of the day was shaped off the court.

Waleed Syoty, Ball District’s MC, connected the games, the players and the crowd, and kept the energy moving between tip-offs.

Behind the lens, Ayman Tamano and Ariba captured the tour on photo and film. Ayman has been part of the Ball District journey for a long time, and it shows. He reads the atmosphere, catching the emotion, the crowd and the small moments around the court that tell the real story of the day.

More than a tournament

Tour four is the clearest picture yet of where Ball District is heading.

A U19 player sharing an environment with experienced adult athletes. Players from different nationalities, teams and backgrounds testing each other. Fans connecting over the game. Local brands becoming part of a growing sports community.

What started as a push to give players more chances to compete is turning into something bigger: a place where players, coaches, creatives, businesses and fans find one another.

Not just another basketball tournament. A District built around the people who love the game.