2016–17 Saudi First Division

2016–17 Saudi First Division was the 40th season of the Saudi First Division since its establishment in 1976. The season started on 11 August 2016 and concluded on 5 May 2017.^[1]

Saudi First Division

Season	2016–17
Champions	Al-Fayha
Promoted	Al-Fayha Ohod
Relegated	Al-Adalh Al-Jeel Wej
Matches played	240
Goals scored	599 (2.5 per match)
Top goalscorer	Abdulfattah Adam (20 goals)
Biggest home win	Al-Fayha 5–0 Al-Qaisumah (1 April 2017)
Biggest away win	Al-Orobah 1–4 Ohod (23 September 2016) Al-Watani 1–4 Hajer (2 October 2016) Damac 1–4 Al-Shoulla (15 October 2016) Al-Adalh 2–5 Al-Fayha (18 March 2017) Wej 2–5 Ohod (22 April 2017)
Highest scoring	Al-Nojoom 4–3 Al-Jeel (24 December 2016) Al-Jeel 5–2 Al-Watani (30 December 2016) Al-Adalh 2–5 Al-Fayha (18 March 2017) Wej 2–5 Ohod (22 April 2017)
Longest winning run	7 matches Ohod
Longest unbeaten run	10 matches Al-Fayha
Longest winless run	8 matches Al-Watani Al-Nojoom Al-Orobah Wej
Longest losing run	5 matches Al-Watani Al-Tai Al-Orobah
← 2015–16 2017–18 → All statistics correct as of 5 May 2017.

Teams

A total of 16 teams are contesting the league, including 11 sides from the 2015–16 season, two relegated from the 2015–16 Saudi Professional League and three promoted from the 2015–16 Saudi Second Division. Al-Qaisumah were promoted as champions, while Al-Adalh were promoted as Group B winners. Wej secured the final berth by winning the play-offs.^[2]

Team changes

The following teams have changed division since the 2015–16 season.

To the First Division

Promoted from Second Division

• Al-Qaisumah
• Al-Adalh
• Wej

Relegated from Professional League

• Najran
• Hajer

From the First Division

Relegated to Second Division

• Al-Mujazzal
• Al-Riyadh
• Al-Diriyah

Promoted to Professional League

• Al-Ettifaq
• Al-Batin

Stadia and locations

Damac

Al-Tai

Al-Nahda

Al-Orobah

Al-Shoulla

Al-Adalh
Al-Jeel
Al-Nojoom
Hajer

Al-Watani

Al-Fayha

Al-Hazm

Ohod

Najran

Al-Qaisumah

Wej

Locations of teams in the 2016–17 Saudi First Division

Club	Location	Stadium
Al-Adalh	Al-Hasa	Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium
Al-Fayha	Al Majma'ah	King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Sport City Stadium
Al-Hazm	Ar Rass	Al Hazm Club Stadium
Al-Jeel	Al-Hasa	Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium
Al-Nahda	Dammam	Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium
Al-Nojoom	Al-Hasa	Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium
Al-Orobah	Sakakah	Al-Oruba Club Stadium
Al-Qaisumah	Qaisumah	Al-Qaisumah Club Stadium
Al-Shoulla	Al Kharj	Al-Shoulla Club Stadium
Al-Tai	Ha'il	Prince Abdul Aziz bin Musa'ed Stadium
Al-Watani	Tabuk	King Khalid Sport City Stadium
Damac	Khamis Mushait	Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium
Hajer	Al-Hasa	Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium
Najran	Najran	Al Akhdoud Club Stadium
Ohod	Medina	Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz Stadium
Wej	Ta'if	King Fahd Stadium

Foreign players

Club	Player 1	Player 2	Former Players
Al-Adalh	Bryan Jones	–	Seydou Palo
Al-Fayha	Mechac Koffi	Saeed Mustafa	Pedrinho
Al-Hazm	Robert Gladiador	Kevin Kimani	–
Al-Jeel	Dodô	–	–
Al-Nahda	Naby Soumah	–	Bryan Jones
Al-Nojoom	Amir Dridi	–	–
Al-Orobah	Abubaker Khabir	–	–
Al-Qaisumah	Ahmad Maiga	Albaye Papa Diop	–
Al-Shoulla	Omran Saeed	–	Yves Diba Ilunga
Al-Tai	Leo	Issa Husamal dean	Lucas Galán
Al-Watani	Francis Coffie	–	Peter Kolawole
Damac	Moussa Tigana	Peter Kolawole	Abdel Fadel Suanon
Hajer	Hervé Tchami	–	Naby Soumah Yousef Al-Thodan
Najran	Mussab Al-Laham	–	–
Ohod	Kafoumba Touré	–	–
Wej	Petrișor Voinea	–	–

Results

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Al-Fayha (C, P)	30	13	11	6	50	35	+15	50	Promotion to Professional League
2	Ohod (P)	30	13	9	8	42	30	+12	48
3	Najran	30	13	7	10	38	34	+4	46	Qualification to promotion play-offs
4	Al-Nahda	30	12	9	9	37	31	+6	45
5	Al-Orobah	30	10	11	9	34	32	+2	41
6	Al-Qaisumah	30	11	8	11	44	50	−6	41
7	Al-Shoulla	30	11	8	11	35	33	+2	41
8	Damac	30	9	13	8	33	39	−6	40
9	Hajer	30	10	10	10	38	36	+2	40
10	Al-Hazem	30	10	8	12	36	30	+6	38
11	Al-Watani	30	10	7	13	27	37	−10	37
12	Al-Nojoom	30	8	13	9	38	37	+1	37
13	Al-Tai	30	10	7	13	34	42	−8	37
14	Al-Adalh (R)	30	8	12	10	31	41	−10	36	Relegation to Second Division
15	Al-Jeel (R)	30	8	11	11	45	45	0	35
16	Wej (R)	30	6	12	12	37	47	−10	30

Updated to match(es) played on 5 May 2017. Source: Goalzz
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Total goal difference; 5) Total goals scored; 6) Play-off (only for deciding champion, promotion and relegation).^[3]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results table

Home \ Away	ADA	FAY	HAZ	JEL	NAH	NOJ	ORO	QAI	SHO	TAI	WAT	DAM	HJR	NAJ	OHD	WEG
Al-Adalh		2–5	1–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–1	3–1	2–1	1–1	0–1	2–3	1–1	1–0
Al-Fayha	2–1		1–2	2–2	2–2	2–1	1–1	5–0	3–1	3–1	2–1	1–1	0–3	0–0	2–1	3–0
Al-Hazem	4–0	1–0		0–0	0–1	2–0	1–2	2–2	0–1	2–0	1–1	2–1	0–2	2–0	3–0	0–0
Al-Jeel	2–3	1–1	1–1		1–2	1–1	2–1	1–0	1–0	3–2	5–2	4–0	2–2	1–3	1–2	4–2
Al-Nahda	1–1	1–0	2–0	0–0		2–2	0–0	2–3	3–1	0–3	2–0	3–0	1–0	0–1	2–1	3–1
Al-Nojoom	0–0	1–2	3–2	4–3	2–1		3–1	2–0	2–0	3–0	1–2	1–1	1–1	0–1	2–1	1–1
Al-Orobah	1–1	0–1	1–1	1–2	2–1	2–0		2–1	0–0	1–1	0–1	3–0	3–0	3–0	1–4	2–2
Al-Qaisumah	4–2	0–2	3–2	1–0	0–0	3–2	0–1		2–2	3–0	2–0	2–1	2–3	2–1	2–2	1–1
Al-Shoulla	0–0	2–2	1–0	1–0	0–0	2–0	1–2	2–3		3–0	0–0	1–1	1–0	1–2	1–0	4–0
Al-Tai	2–0	2–3	1–0	3–1	3–3	1–0	2–0	1–1	2–0		1–2	1–2	1–0	3–1	1–2	0–0
Al-Watani	0–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	0–0	1–1	1–0	2–1	2–0		1–2	1–4	1–2	1–0	0–1
Damac	0–0	2–1	1–1	2–1	1–0	1–1	0–0	3–0	1–4	0–0	1–0		2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1
Hajer	0–0	3–1	0–0	2–0	1–2	0–0	1–1	3–3	2–2	1–1	0–1	2–1		1–2	0–2	2–1
Najran	4–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–2	0–1	1–0	1–2	3–1		1–0	0–1
Ohod	2–0	0–0	2–1	1–1	1–0	0–0	2–0	2–0	1–0	0–0	0–1	3–1	1–1	2–1		2–2
Weg	1–1	1–1	1–3	3–2	1–2	2–2	0–1	1–2	3–0	3–0	3–0	1–1	1–2	1–1	2–5

Updated to match(es) played on 5 May 2017. Source: Goalzz
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season progress

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Al-Adalh	L	L	W	D	L	W	D	L	D	W	D	D	D	D	W	D	L	D	L	W	D	W	L	L	L	L	W	D	W	D
Al-Fayha	W	D	D	L	D	L	L	D	W	W	L	W	W	D	W	W	W	D	D	W	D	L	D	W	W	L	W	D	W	D
Al-Hazem	L	L	L	W	W	L	D	W	L	W	W	W	L	D	D	D	L	D	W	L	D	W	L	D	L	W	L	L	D	W
Al-Jeel	D	L	D	W	L	L	W	W	L	L	L	D	W	D	L	W	D	D	L	W	W	L	W	D	D	D	L	L	D	D
Al-Nahda	D	W	L	L	W	W	D	W	W	W	L	W	W	L	L	L	W	D	D	W	D	L	D	D	L	D	W	W	L	D
Al-Nojoom	D	L	W	D	L	W	L	D	D	L	D	L	L	L	W	D	W	D	D	D	D	L	W	D	D	W	L	W	W	D
Al-Orobah	W	W	D	L	D	D	W	L	D	W	W	D	W	D	W	D	L	L	L	L	L	D	L	W	D	D	W	D	L	W
Al-Qaisumah	D	D	W	D	D	W	L	W	L	L	D	D	L	W	L	W	L	L	W	W	D	W	L	D	L	W	W	W	L	L
Al-Shoulla	L	D	L	L	W	W	L	L	W	W	D	D	W	W	D	W	L	W	W	L	D	D	D	D	L	W	L	W	L	L
Al-Tai	L	D	W	L	L	D	D	D	W	L	D	L	W	L	L	L	L	L	W	D	W	W	W	W	W	L	W	L	L	D
Al-Watani	D	L	D	L	L	L	L	L	W	W	L	W	L	W	D	L	L	W	D	W	L	L	W	D	D	L	W	D	W	W
Damac	D	W	L	W	W	L	L	D	D	L	W	W	D	L	D	D	W	D	D	D	D	W	D	L	W	L	D	D	W	L
Hajer	W	D	W	D	W	L	W	D	L	W	L	D	L	W	L	D	W	D	D	L	D	W	L	D	D	W	L	L	W	L
Najran	D	W	L	L	W	W	L	D	L	L	W	L	L	W	W	L	W	W	L	D	W	D	L	W	W	D	D	D	W	W
Ohod	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	D	W	L	D	L	D	D	W	L	D	D	W	L	D	W	D	L	W	L	L	W	L	D
Weg	D	D	L	W	D	W	D	D	D	L	W	L	D	L	L	W	W	D	L	L	L	L	D	D	D	W	L	L	L	D

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lose

Statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

As of 5 May 2017^[4]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Abdulfattah Adam	Al-Jeel	20
2	Kafoumba Touré	Ohod	18
3	Marco Cortez	Al-Orobah	16
	Ahmed Abdu Jaber	Al-Adalh
5	Haron Eisa	Al-Watani	15
6	Yves Ilunga	Al-Shoulla	12
	Fahad Al-Shammeri	Al-Qaisumah
	Douglas	Al-Jeel
9	Ali Al-Aliany	Damac	10
	Naby Soumah	Al-Nahda

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Ref.
Ahmed Al-Zaaq	Al-Hazm	Al-Adalh	4–0 (H)	2 October 2016
Yves Diba Ilunga4	Al-Shoulla	Damac	4–1 (A)	15 October 2016
Abdulfattah Adam	Al-Jeel	Damac	4–0 (H)	20 October 2016
Bader Al-Khamees	Al-Nahda	Al-Shoulla	3–1 (H)	28 October 2016
Saud Salawati	Najran	Al-Jeel	3–1 (A)	25 November 2016
Eissa Al-Saeed	Al-Nojoom	Al-Jeel	4–3 (H)	24 December 2016
Douglas	Al-Jeel	Al-Watani	5–2 (H)	30 December 2016
Kafoumba Touré	Ohod	Wej	5–2 (A)	22 April 2017

Note

(H) – Home; (A) – Away
⁴ Player scored 4 goals

Clean sheets

As of 5 May 2017

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Saeed Al-Harbi	Al-Shoulla	11
2	Dawod Al Saeed	Al-Nahda	9
	Abdoh Besisi	Ohod
4	Mohammed Mazyad	Al-Tai	8
5	Mohammed Rabee	Al-Orobah	7
	Khalid Radhy	Hajer
	Abdullah Al-Jadaani	Damac
8	Amer Al-Bakhit	Al-Nojoom	6
	Yahia Al-Shehri	Al-Hazem
	Abdulrahman Dagriri	Al-Fayha