Flex League Wraps Up Six-Figure Seed Round

Flex League, a Saudi-based sports tech platform focused on tennis and padel tournament management, has raised a six-figure seed investment round from Jeddah-based Vamos Tennis Academy and the Saudi Arabia–based strategic investor with operations in commercial padel and tennis PAD-L Group. The funding will support the development of a full-featured court booking system, expansion into new cities and sports verticals, and the recruitment of new talent. 

Founded by Dr. Ibrahim Akeel, Faisal Sindi, and Mazen Madani in Saudi Arabia in 2023, Flex League offers a technology-driven approach to organizing sports competitions—bringing structure to what has long been a fragmented, offline experience. The platform currently supports over 40 court facilities across the Kingdom and has hosted more than 150 tournaments in the past year alone, with around 8,000 users receiving real-time competition alerts through the app. 

We at Inc. Arabia chatted with Flex League’s CEO Akeel, Chairman Sindi, and Management Board Member Madani to unpack how they're turning weekend sports and midnight matches into the foundation of Saudi Arabia’s next sports tech success. 

Akeel told us that the idea for Flex League was driven by a desire to bring order to the lack of organization he witnessed firsthand in the local racquet sports community. “One of the biggest insights was how informal and disconnected the racquet sports scene is,” Akeel told us. “Players rely on chat groups to find opponents, book courts by phone, and manage tournaments manually. Digitizing it meant aligning with real behaviors, not just adding features.” 

To that end, Flex League’s platform was built around community needs—offering leagues with customizable time slots and venues, ranking systems to ensure balanced play, and clear structures that answer basic but critical questions that players want the answers to before they hit the courts.  

“People want community but also clarity—who they’re playing [against], their level, preferred courts, and match history. We built that into our platform, along with answers to everyday questions like: is the court booked? Do we report scores? Who brings the balls?” Akeel added. “The key lesson: success comes from designing around how people actually play, not how we think they should.” 

That user-centric approach stems from the founders’ own on-court experience. Chairman Sindi recalled how Flex League’s journey began when he met Akeel during a local tournament in Jeddah. “Soon after, we started registering as doubles partners. That’s when he shared his vision of Flex League with me,” Sindi said. 

The co-founders of Flex Sports, Dr. Ibrahim Akeel, Faisal Sindi, and Mazen Madani.

Back then, competitive play in Saudi Arabia was largely limited to elite athletes or those with ample free time. But that dynamic has shifted. “Today, players of all levels want structured competition that fits their lifestyle,” Sindi noted. “Many, for example, prefer playing late at night to avoid the Arabian climate heat—you even have 'weekends-only' players who come down to the major cities from universities and economic cities nearby.” 

Flex League’s model is built precisely for that kind of flexibility. Players can join tournaments and leagues based on their schedules and still compete for trophies and prizes. “That balance of structure and freedom is now central to our product,” said Sindi. 

Sindi also noted that the team has a broader vision to expand its offerings to other sports. “We see strong potential beyond padel and tennis,” Sindi said. “Our focus is any activity where people come together to compete socially—whether physical or mental.” Inspired by the Saudi Federation for Mental Sports and its promotion of games like chess, bridge, and the popular four-player trick‑taking card game deeply embedded in Saudi and Gulf culture, baloot, Flex League is eyeing a broader spectrum of structured competition. 

For others looking to build in the sports tech space—especially in the region—Akeel offers this advice. “Start by understanding the culture, not just the sport,” he advised. “We underestimated how much behavior is shaped by local habits. Build around how people actually play, not how you think they should. Also, customer feedback and engagement will give you the biggest shortcuts.” 

As for their own experience building in sports tech, Sindi explained that researching and understanding their customers’ needs has been key to onboarding users. “Before entering a new vertical, we look for three things: an active community, a competitive structure with progression, and a demand for flexible, lifestyle-friendly participation. Wherever people want to challenge each other, track their progress, and improve, Flex League can add value,” he said. 

Looking ahead, the team envisions Flex League as the digital backbone of recreational and competitive play in the region. “In five years, we see Flex League as the core infrastructure for competitive and friendly play in the region. Not just an app, but the default way people compete, connect, and organize matches,” said Madani. 

That vision includes a fully integrated ecosystem for booking courts, matchmaking players, running tournaments, and offering ranked competition. “Players won’t just find matches—they’ll track their progress, climb leaderboards, and join communities based on level, location, and play style,” Madani explained. 

He added that the company is working on features like digital shops, prize systems, and custom hubs for clubs and cities to host their own tournaments and rankings. “We’re not just digitizing sport, we’re shaping a competitive culture that fits how people live and play.” 

“Success is when joining Flex League feels as natural as picking up a racket,” Madani concluded. 

Pictured in the lead image is Flex League's team. All images courtesy Flex League.