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Football in Saudi Arabia

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Football in Saudi Arabia
King Fahd Sports City 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

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

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 Pro League is the highest level of competition in the country. until the 1970s, football was organized on a regional basis across Saudi Arabia.

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. 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.

Events hosted

National team

Main article: Saudi Arabia national football team

National ranking

As of 19 September 2024, Saudi Arabia is placed 56th in the FIFA World Rankings

Achievements

Leagues of Saudi Arabia

As of 2024

There are five professional football league levels of Saudi Arabia for men and three for women:


The Saudi Pro League was ranked 27th in 2015 by the International Federation of Football.

List of the men Top League champions

No Season Champion Runners Up
Categorization League
C 1974–75 Al-Nassr Al-Hilal
Premier League
– 1975–76 Canceled
1 1976–77 Al-Hilal Al-Nassr
2 1977–78 Al-Ahli Al-Nassr
3 1978–79 Al-Hilal Al-Nassr
4 1979–80 Al-Nassr Al-Hilal
5 1980–81 Al-Nassr Al-Hilal
6 1981–82 Al-Ittihad Al-Shabab
7 1982–83 Al-Ettifaq Al-Hilal
8 1983–84 Al-Ahli Al-Ittihad
9 1984–85 Al-Hilal Al-Shabab
10 1985–86 Al-Hilal Al-Ittihad
11 1986–87 Al-Ettifaq Al-Hilal
12 1987–88 Al-Hilal Al-Ettifaq
13 1988–89 Al-Nassr Al-Shabab
14 1989–90 Al-Hilal Al-Ahli
15 1990–91 Al-Shabab Al-Nassr
16 1991–92 Al-Shabab Al-Ettifaq
17 1992–93 Al-Shabab Al-Hilal
18 1993–94 Al-Nassr Al-Riyadh
19 1994–95 Al-Nassr Al-Hilal
20 1995–96 Al-Hilal Al-Ahli
21 1996–97 Al-Ittihad Al-Hilal
22 1997–98 Al-Hilal Al-Shabab
23 1998–99 Al-Ittihad Al-Ahli
24 1999–00 Al-Ittihad Al-Ahli
25 2000–01 Al-Ittihad Al-Nassr
26 2001–02 Al-Hilal Al-Ittihad
27 2002–03 Al-Ittihad Al-Ahli
28 2003–04 Al-Shabab Al-Ittihad
29 2004–05 Al-Hilal Al-Shabab
30 2005–06 Al-Shabab Al-Hilal
31 2006–07 Al-Ittihad Al-Hilal
32 2007–08 Al-Hilal Al-Ittihad
Pro League
33 2008–09 Al-Ittihad Al-Hilal
34 2009–10 Al-Hilal Al-Ittihad
35 2010–11 Al-Hilal Al-Ittihad
36 2011–12 Al-Shabab Al-Ahli
37 2012–13 Al-Fateh Al-Hilal
38 2013–14 Al-Nassr Al-Hilal
39 2014–15 Al-Nassr Al-Ahli
40 2015–16 Al-Ahli Al-Hilal
41 2016–17 Al-Hilal Al-Ahli
42 2017–18 Al-Hilal Al-Ahli
43 2018–19 Al-Nassr Al-Hilal
44 2019–20 Al-Hilal Al-Nassr
45 2020–21 Al-Hilal Al-Shabab
46 2021–22 Al-Hilal Al-Ittihad
47 2022–23 Al-Ittihad Al-Nassr
48 2023–24 Al-Hilal Al-Nassr

Stadiums

Main article: List of football stadiums in Saudi Arabia

Best Player of Asia award

Main article: Asian Footballer of the Year
Year Player Club
1994 Saeed Al-Owairan Al-Shabab
2000 Nawaf Al-Temyat Al-Hilal
2005 Hamad Al-Montashari Al-Ittihad
2007 Yasser Al-Qahtani Al-Hilal
2014 Nasser Al-Shamrani Al-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. In February 2020, Saudi Arabia launched a football league for women.

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. Once complete, the academy will be one of the largest in the world.

Saudi Arabia football privatization

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

See also

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. "The Strongest League in the World 2015 - IFFHS". 7 January 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  6. Templin, Jacob (7 August 2012). "Video: The Secret Life of a Saudi Women's Soccer Team". Time. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  7. Wagner, Rob L. "Women's soccer making headway in Saudi Arabia". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  8. "Saudi Arabia launches a soccer league for women". CNN. 27 February 2020.
  9. Hilton, Tommy (28 July 2020). "Saudi Arabia announces new Mahd Sports Academy with Jose Mourinho, FIFA chief". Al Arabiya English. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  10. "Saudi Arabia unveils ambitious Mahd Sports Academy". The National News. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  11. "Privatization of sports clubs welcomed to bring quality shift in Saudi sports". 23 November 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  12. 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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