Football in Saudi Arabia

Updated on Jan 25, 2024

Edit

Comment

Country Saudi Arabia		National team men's national team

Football is the most popular sport in Saudi Arabia. Football in Saudi Arabia is governed by Saudi Arabia Football Federation (Arabic: الاتحاد السعودي لكرة القدم‎‎). It was founded in the year of 1956. It performs the function of administering both the club competitions and the national football team of Saudi Arabia.

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

National Football team

The Saudi Arabia national football team (Arabic: منتخب السعودية لكرة القدم‎‎), known to its fans as Al-Saqour which means The Falcons. Saudi Arabia is one of the most successful football teams in Asia. Saudi Arabia has won the Asian Championship 3 times and has qualified for the FIFA World Cup four times, the first of which was in 1994.

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. Since 2013, the Saudi Pro League has been sponsored by the Abdul Latif Jameel company.

In 1976–77, with the improvement of transportation links as well as local football, the Saudi Professional League was launched on a national basis. 8 clubs participated in the first season of the tournament.

In 1981, a decision was taken by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation to increase the number of clubs, thereby increasing the league to 18 clubs, 8 of which take part in the 1st League, with another 10 competing in the 2nd League. In the 1985–85 season the number of clubs in the 1st League was increased to 12 clubs.

In 1990, a new league championship was also introduced, known as The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques League Cup. It was a 2-stage competition – round robin and knockout-phase. The top 4 teams (knowns as the Golden Square) from the round robin moved to the knock-out phase to compete for the final championship.

In 2007–08 season, The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques Champions Cup was introduced for the more elite teams to compete for. 8 teams play in that competition which includes top 6 teams of the 1st League plus the winner of the Crown Prince Cup and the winner of the Prince Faisal Cup.

National Ranking

Saudi Arabia is currently placed 101 (as of 17 October 2013) on the FIFA World Ranking.

Current Squad

Updated as of June 19, 2013.

Achievements

1996 Atlanta Olympic Games Round 16

1984 AFC Asian Cup – Champion

1988 AFC Asian Cup – Champion

1992 AFC Asian Cup – Runner-up

1992 FIFA Confederations Cup – Silver Medal

1994 FIFA World Cup – Round of 16

1994 Gulf Cup of Nations in UAE – Champion

1996 AFC Asian Cup – Champion

1997 FIFA Confederations Cup – Group stage

1998 FIFA World Cup – Group Stage

1999 FIFA Confederations Cup – 4th place

2000 AFC Asian Cup – Runner-up

2002 Gulf Cup of Nations in Riyadh – Champion

2002 FIFA World Cup – Group Stage

2003 Gulf Cup of Nations in Kuwait – Champion

2004 AFC Asian Cup – Group Stage

2006 FIFA World Cup – Group Stage

2007 AFC Asian Cup – Runner-up

2009 Gulf Cup of Nations in Oman – Runner-up

2011 AFC Asian Cup – Group Stage

League of Saudi Arabia

There are 3 Divisions in the League of Saudi Arabia:

Abdul Latif Jameel League (Saudi Pro League) – 14 Clubs

Division 1 – 16 Clubs

Division 2 – 20 Clubs, further divided into Group A and B, 10 clubs each.

Abdul Latif Jameel League

Clubs in the Abdul Latif Jameel League are – Al Fateh, Al Hilal, Al Shabab, Al Nassr, Ettifaq, Al Ahli, Al Ittihad, Al Baten, Al Raed, Al Taawon, Al Qadsiyah, Al Faisaly, Al Khaleej, Al Wahda.

The current champion of the League is Al Ahli, as of 2016.

Achievements

Al-Ittihad – Won AFC Champions League in 2004 and 2005.

Al-Ittihad – Finished 4th at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Al Nassr – Received the Fair Play Award at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Al-Hilal – Won 2 tournaments of the Asian Cup twice.

Saudi Stadiums

King Fahd International Stadium – Final round of each competition was held in that stadium. It is the home of Al-Hilal

Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium, Jeddah – It was also known as Youth Welfare stadium in Jeddah.

Prince Sultan bin Fahd Stadium in Jeddah – It is the home of Al-Ahli (Jeddah) .

Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium – It is a multi-use stadium in Khobar, and is the home stadium of Al-Qadisiya Al Khubar.

King Abdul Aziz Stadium – It is a multi-use stadium in Mecca. The stadium has a capacity of 38,000 people, and is the home stadium of Al-Wahda FC (Mecca) .

Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium – It is a multi-use stadium in Dammam, and is the home of Al-Ittifaq.

Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium – It is a multi-use stadium in Riyadh. The stadium has a capacity of 30,000 people, and is the home of Al Nassr.

Best Player of Asia Award

In 1994 – Saeed Al-Owairan – Al Shabab Club

In 2000 – Nawaf Al-Temyat – Al Hilal Club

In 2005 – Hamad Al Montashiri – Al Ittihad Club

In 2007 – Yasser Al Qahatani – Al Hilal Club

In 2015 − Nasser Al Shamrani – Al Hilal Club

league system

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