Football in Saudi Arabia

Football is the most popular sport in Saudi Arabia.[1] Football in Saudi Arabia is governed by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation (SAFF) (Arabic: الاتحاد السعودي لكرة القدم). It was founded in 1956.[2] It administers both the club competitions and the national football teams of Saudi Arabia.

Football in Saudi Arabia
King Fahd International Stadium in 2008
CountrySaudi Arabia
Governing bodySAFF
National team(s)National team
Under-23 national team
Under-20 national team
Under-17 national team
Women's national team
Nickname(s)The Falcons
First played1957
Clubs172
National competitions
Club competitions
List
International competitions
Audience records
Season2022–23 in Saudi Arabian football

The Saudi Arabia Football Federation founder is Prince Abdullah bin Faisal al Saud.

History

National football team
Uruguay-Saudi Arabia match at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

The Saudi Arabia national football team (Arabic: منتخب السعودية لكرة القدم), is nicknamed as Al-Saqour, which means The Falcons. They are one of the most successful football teams in Asia, winning the Asian Championship three times and qualified to the World Cup six times (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018, and 2022).

Rivalries

Saudi Arabia has a major rivalry with Iran.

League

The Saudi Professional League is the highest level of competition in the country. In the 1970s, football was organized on a regional basis across Saudi Arabia.[3]

In the 1976 Saudi Professional League season, with the improvement of transportation links and local football, the league was launched on a national basis. Eight clubs participated in the first season of the tournament.

In 1981, a decision was made by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation to increase the number of clubs to 18 clubs, 8 of which take part in the first league, with the other 10 competing in the second league.

In the 1985 season, the number of clubs in the first league was increased to 12.

In 1990, a league cup was introduced, known as The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques League Cup. It was a two-stage competition, a round-robin and knockout phase. The top four teams (known as the Golden Square) from the round-robin moved to the knock-out phase to compete for the final championship.

In the 2007–08 season, The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Champions Cup was introduced for the more elite teams to compete for. Eight teams participate, including the top six teams of the first league, the winner of the Crown Prince Cup, and the Prince Faisal Cup.

Main article: Exodus of footballers to Saudi Arabia

Since 2023, the league started growing through the investment of the Public Investment Fund, mainly in association football.[4] World famous football players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema joined the top-flight football league of Saudi Arabia with the help of the Public Investment Fund. Cristiano Ronaldo made an immediate impact on the global following of his club Al-Nassr, with the Instagram account of the club growing from 860,000 followers before his move to over 23 million followers as of 4 January 2024.[5]

Events hosted

National team
Main article: Saudi Arabia national football team

National ranking

As of 3 April 2023, Saudi Arabia is placed 54th in the FIFA World Rankings.

Achievements

Leagues of Saudi Arabia

There are four professional football league levels of Saudi Arabia:

The Saudi Professional League was ranked 27th in 2015 by the International Federation of Football.[6]

List of Saudi Pro League champions
No. Season Champion
11976–77Al-Hilal
21977–78Al-Ahli
31978–79Al-Hilal
41979–80Al-Nassr
51980–81Al-Nassr
61981–82Al-Ittihad
71982–83Al-Ettifaq
81983–84Al-Ahli
91984–85Al-Hilal
101985–86Al-Hilal
111986–87Al-Ettifaq
121987–88Al-Hilal
131988–89Al-Nassr
141989–90Al-Hilal
151990–91Al-Shabab
161991–92Al-Shabab
171992–93Al-Shabab
181993–94Al-Nassr
191994–95Al-Nassr
201995–96Al-Hilal
211996–97Al-Ittihad
221997–98Al-Hilal
231998–99Al-Ittihad
241999–2000Al-Ittihad
252000–01Al-Ittihad
262001–02Al-Hilal
272002–03Al-Ittihad
282003–04Al-Shabab
292004–05Al-Hilal
302005–06Al-Shabab
312006–07Al-Ittihad
322007–08Al-Hilal
332008–09Al-Ittihad
342009–10Al-Hilal
352010–11Al-Hilal
362011–12Al-Shabab
372012–13Al-Fateh
382013–14Al-Nassr
392014–15Al-Nassr
402015–16Al-Ahli
412016–17Al-Hilal
422017–18Al-Hilal
432018–19Al-Nassr
442019–20Al-Hilal
452020–21Al-Hilal
462021–22Al-Hilal
472022–23Al-Ittihad

Performance by club
No. Club Winners Winning years
1Al-Hilal
18
1977, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022
2Al-Ittihad
9
1982, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2009 , 2023
3Al-Nassr
8
1980, 1981, 1989, 1994, 1995, 2014, 2015, 2019
4Al-Shabab
6
1991, 1992, 1993, 2004, 2006, 2012
5Al-Ahli
4
1969, 1978, 1984, 2016
6Al-Ettifaq
2
1983, 1987
7Al-Fateh
1
2013

Stadiums
  • Al-Batin Club Stadium
  • Al-Bukiryah Club Stadium
  • Al-Hazem Club Stadium
  • Al Majma'ah Sports City
  • Al-Najma Club Stadium
  • Al-Okhdood Club Stadium
  • Al-Shoulla Club Stadium
  • Department of Education Stadium
  • King Abdul Aziz Stadium
  • King Abdullah Sport City Stadium
  • King Abdullah Sports City
  • King Fahd International Stadium
  • King Fahd Stadium
  • King Khalid Sport City Stadium
  • King Saud Sport City Stadium
  • Mrsool Park
  • Prince Abdul Aziz bin Musa'ed Stadium
  • Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium
  • Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium
  • Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium
  • Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium
  • Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz Stadium
  • Prince Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium
  • Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium
  • Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium
  • Prince Turki bin Abdul Aziz Stadium

Best Player of Asia award
Main article: Asian Footballer of the Year
Year Player Club
1994Saeed Al-OwairanAl-Shabab
2000Nawaf Al-TemyatAl-Hilal
2005Hamad Al-MontashariAl-Ittihad
2007Yasser Al-QahtaniAl-Hilal
2014Nasser Al-ShamraniAl-Hilal
2022 Salem Al-Dawsari Al Hilal

League system
Main article: Football League system in Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Arabia football association football league system is organized in a pyramidal shape similar to football league systems in many other countries. The principle of promotion and relegation binds the leagues.

Women's football
Main article: Women's football in Saudi Arabia

Women's football is played in Saudi Arabia, but only in the affluent areas, as the country's very restrictive laws (especially those concerning women) inhibit the practice of the sport.[7][8] In February 2020, Saudi Arabia launched a football league for women.[9]

Academies

In July 2020, the Saudi ministry of sport announced the establishment of Mahd Sports Academy, a sports academy which aims to scout, help, and train Saudi talent in various sports, including football.[10] Once complete, the academy will be one of the largest in the world.[11]

Saudi Arabia football privatization

In November 2016, the government of Saudi Arabia approved plans to turn state-owned sports clubs into private companies.[12] This is part of the economic reforms to reduce Saudi reliance on oil exports and ease financial burdens on the government.[13]

See also
  • List of football clubs in Saudi Arabia
  • List of football stadiums in Saudi Arabia

References
  1. "James Dorsey: Soccer Emerges as Focal Point of Dissent in Saudi Arabia". HuffPost. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  2. "Saudi Arabia on FIFA.com". FIFA. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  3. Jones, Rory (1 May 2013). "Saudi Arabia Seeks to Upgrade Domestic Professional Soccer". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  4. Revealed: Saudi Arabia’s $6bn spend on ‘sportswashing’
  5. "Al-Nassr now boast more Instagram followers than every Premier League club outside 'Big Six' after Cristiano Ronaldo's move sparked incredible increase". TalkSport. 5 January 2023. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  6. "The Strongest League in the World 2015 - IFFHS". 7 January 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  7. Templin, Jacob (7 August 2012). "Video: The Secret Life of a Saudi Women's Soccer Team". Time. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  8. Wagner, Rob L. "Women's soccer making headway in Saudi Arabia". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  9. "Saudi Arabia launches a soccer league for women". CNN. 27 February 2020.
  10. Hilton, Tommy (28 July 2020). "Saudi Arabia announces new Mahd Sports Academy with Jose Mourinho, FIFA chief". Al Arabiya English. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  11. "Saudi Arabia unveils ambitious Mahd Sports Academy". The National News. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  12. "Privatization of sports clubs welcomed to bring quality shift in Saudi sports". 23 November 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  13. El-Erian, Mohamed A. (16 May 2016). "Saudi Arabia's attempt to reduce reliance on oil has the world rapt". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
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