2021–22 Saudi Second Division League

The 2021–22 Saudi Second Division was the first season of the Saudi Second Division League after its rebrand, and the 46th season since its establishment in 1976. The season began on 29 September 2021 and concluded on 20 April 2022 with the final. The group stage draw was held on 8 June 2021.^[1]

Second Division League

Season	2021–22
Dates	29 September 2021 – 20 April 2022
Champions	Al-Arabi (2nd title)
Promoted	Al-Arabi Al-Qaisumah Al-Riyadh
Relegated	Al-Dahab Afif Al-Nojoom Al-Thoqbah
Matches played	367
Goals scored	939 (2.56 per match)
Top goalscorer	Israel Abia Youssef Trabelsi (20 goals each)
Biggest home win	Al-Entesar 6–0 Al-Bukiryah (5 March 2022)
Biggest away win	Al-Lewaa 0–4 Al-Saqer (29 October 2021) Al-Safa 0–4 Al-Jandal (14 January 2022) Al-Lewaa 0–4 Al-Arabi (11 February 2022) Al-Safa 0–4 Al-Taqadom (12 February 2022) Al-Sharq 0–4 Al-Dahab (5 March 2022) Al-Rayyan 0–4 Arar (11 March 2022)
Highest scoring	Al-Jandal 4–4 Al-Zulfi (31 March 2022)
Longest winning run	Al-Arabi (8 matches)
Longest unbeaten run	Al-Riyadh (17 matches)
Longest winless run	Al-Lewaa (16 matches)
Longest losing run	Al-Thoqbah Arar (7 matches)
← 2020–21 2022–23 → All statistics correct as of 20 April 2022.

The season was originally scheduled to conclude on 16 April with the final. However, it was announced that both the final and third-place play-off would be postponed due to an ongoing investigation into match-fixing allegations.^[2] The investigation was concluded on 12 April with no evidence of any match-fixing and the new date for the final was announced as 20 April.^[3]

The final was played on 20 April 2022 between Al-Arabi and Al-Qaisumah. Al-Arabi defeated Al-Qaisumah 1–0 to win their second title and first since 1986.^[4]

Overview

Changes

On 9 October 2020, the Saudi FF announced that the number of teams in the league would be increased to 32, with each group consisting of 16 teams, starting from the 2022–23 season. To prepare for these changes it was announced that only 3 teams would be promoted to the MS League and 5 teams would be relegated from the MS League in the 2021–22 season.^[5]

Rebrand

On 29 September 2021, the newly appointed executive director of the SDL, Abdulmohsen Al-Duhaimi, announced a rebrand; beginning with the 2021–22 season, the competition would be known as the Second Division League (SDL). As part of the rebranding, a new logo was introduced.^[6][7]

Team changes

A total of 28 teams are contesting the league, including 20 sides from the 2020–21 season, 4 relegated teams from the MS League, and 4 promoted teams from the 2020–21 Third Division.^[8]

The following teams have changed division since the 2020–21 season

To Second Division

Promoted from the Third Division

• Al-Saqer
• Al-Nairyah
• Al-Rayyan
• Tuwaiq

Relegated from MS League

• Al-Bukiryah
• Al-Thoqbah
• Arar
• Al-Nojoom

From Second Division

Promoted to MS League

• Al-Akhdoud
• Al-Orobah
• Al-Kholood
• Bisha

Relegated to the Third Division

• Al-Hejaz
• Al-Mujazzal
• Al-Selmiyah
• Kumait

Teams

;Group A

Al-Arabi

Al-Bukiryah

Al-Dahab

Al-Entesar

Al-Lewaa

Al-Nojoom
Al-Rawdhah

Al-Riyadh

Al-Sadd

Al-Saqer

Al-Sharq

Al-Washm

Tuwaiq

Wej

Locations of teams in the 2021–22 Saudi Second Division Group A

Club	Location	Stadium
Al-Arabi	Unaizah	Al-Najma Club Stadium
Al-Bukiryah	Al Bukayriyah	Al-Bukiryah Club Stadium
Al-Dahab	Mahd adh Dhahab	Ohod Club Stadium (Medina)
Al-Entesar	Rabigh	Al-Entesar Club Stadium
Al-Lewaa	Baqaa	Al-Jabalain Club Stadium (Ha'il)
Al-Nojoom	Al-Hasa (Al-Shuqaiq)	Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium
Al-Rawdhah	Al-Hasa (Al-Jeshah)	Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium
Al-Riyadh	Riyadh	Prince Turki bin Abdul Aziz Stadium
Al-Sadd	Najaan	Al-Shoulla Club Stadium (Al-Kharj)
Al-Saqer	Buraidah (Al-Basr)	Al-Taawoun Club Stadium
Al-Sharq	Ad-Dilam	Al-Shoulla Club Stadium (Al-Kharj)
Al-Washm	Shaqra	Al-Washm Club Stadium
Tuwaiq	Al Zulfi	Al-Zulfi Club Stadium
Wej	Ta'if	King Fahd Stadium

Group B

Afif

Al-Ansar

Al-Jandal

Al-Nairyah

Al-Najma

Al-Qaisumah

Al-Rayyan

Al-Safa

Al-Taqadom

Al-Taraji

Al-Thoqbah

Al-Zulfi

Arar

Hetten

Locations of teams in the 2021–22 Saudi Second Division Group B

Club	Location	Stadium
Afif	Afif	Al-Dera'a Club Stadium (Dawadmi)
Al-Ansar	Medina	Al-Ansar Club Stadium
Al-Jandal	Dumat al-Jandal	Al-Orobah Club Stadium (Sakakah)
Al-Nairyah	Al Nairyah	Al-Ettifaq Club Stadium
Al-Najma	Unaizah	Al-Najma Club Stadium
Al-Qaisumah	Hafar al-Batin	Al-Qaisumah Club Stadium
Al-Rayyan	Haʼil	Al-Jabalain Club Stadium
Al-Safa	Safwa City	Al-Safa Club Stadium
Al-Taqadom	Al Mithnab	Al-Najma Club Stadium (Unaizah)
Al-Taraji	Qatif	Al-Khaleej Club Stadium
Al-Thoqbah	Khobar	Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium
Al-Zulfi	Al Zulfi	Al-Zulfi Club Stadium
Arar	Arar	Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Musa'ed Sport City Stadium
Hetten	Samtah	King Faisal Sport City Stadium (Jizan)

Foreign players

The number of foreign players was increased from 2 players per team to 3 players per team.^[9]

Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.

Club	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Former Players
Afif	Mohamed Ajid	Albashir Sidi	Abdulhadi Adamw
Al-Ansar	Emmanuel Banahene	Alseny Soumah	Ablaye Sy
Al-Arabi	José Anderson	Cheibane Traoré	Amir Omrani
Al-Bukiryah	Oussou Konan	Chaker Rguiî	Zied Ounalli
Al-Dahab	Amara Bagayoko	Halim Darragi	Kouni Khalfa
Al-Entesar	Patrick Ngoula	Gnamien Gislain Yikpe	Maher Sharoma
Al-Jandal	Guillaume Daho	Youssef Fouzai	Sabri Zaidi
Al-Lewaa	Sedjro Counou	Mohamed Soudani	Daniel Noseki	Amadou Samaké
Al-Nairyah	Hamza Hadda	Hamza Letifi	Bilel Touati
Al-Najma	Rabii Bouzid	Adel Hmani	Othman Saidi
Al-Nojoom	Lassina Diaby	Mahmoud Shawkat	Nader Sahal
Al-Qaisumah	Fody Traoré [ar]	Mohammed Al-Dhaw	Seifeddine Jerbi
Al-Rawdhah	Mohamed Taib	Israel Abia	Bilel Mohsni
Al-Rayyan	Charles Oliveira	Mouhamadou N'Diaye	Abdallah Berrabeh
Al-Riyadh	Elhadji Malick	Mohamed Aouichi	Mahmoud Ben Salah
Al-Sadd	Pingo	Mohamed Amine Khaloui	Oussama Omrani
Al-Safa	Ibourahima Sidibé	Moussa Coulibaly	Sidi Touda
Al-Saqer	Cheikh Saadné	Abdullahi Yatma	Mame Balla Diop
Al-Sharq	Aneel Bkaki	Godfred Asante	Christian Pyagbara
Al-Taqadom	Bekaye Wade	Mohamed M'Bareck	Adamou Moussa
Al-Taraji	Ahmad Boussaid	Mehdi Bensib	Mohammed Ali Ben Abdessalem
Al-Thoqbah	Ernest Anang	Khaled Al-Naasan	Oussema Amdouni
Al-Washm	Guilherme Café	Lekão	Mateus Totô	Danilo Mariotto Peninha Mohammed Alhaj
Al-Zulfi	Paulo Cézar	Skander Ben Afia	Youssef Trabelsi
Arar	Kaká	Vanílson	Lamine N'dao
Hetten	Douglas Lima	Murilo Souza	Ricardo Verza
Tuwaiq	Bernard Arthur	Chidiebere Nwakali	Bahaeddine Othman
Wej	Achraf Ben Dhiaf	Khaled Gharsellaoui	Slim Mezlini

Group A

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Al-Arabi (C, P)	26	16	9	1	42	16	+26	57	Promotion to the FD League and Qualification to the Final
2	Al-Riyadh (P)	26	16	8	2	42	16	+26	56	Qualification for the third place play-offs
3	Al-Entesar	26	10	8	8	40	26	+14	38
4	Al-Bukiryah	26	9	10	7	37	35	+2	37
5	Al-Saqer	26	8	11	7	26	26	0	35[a]
6	Al-Rawdhah	26	9	8	9	38	42	−4	35[a]
7	Al-Washm	26	8	8	10	31	34	−3	32
8	Wej	26	7	10	9	26	30	−4	31
9	Al-Lewaa	26	6	12	8	29	39	−10	30[b]
10	Tuwaiq	26	7	9	10	23	32	−9	30[b]
11	Al-Sharq	26	6	9	11	28	32	−4	27[c]
12	Al-Sadd	26	7	6	13	23	38	−15	27[c]
13	Al-Dahab (R)	26	6	8	12	24	31	−7	26	Relegation to the Third Division
14	Al-Nojoom (R)	26	5	8	13	26	38	−12	23

Updated to match(es) played on 30 March 2022. Source: saff.com.sa
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-Head points; 3) Head-to-Head goal difference; 4) Head-to-Head goals scored; 5) Total goal difference; 6) Total goals scored; 7) Play-off (only for deciding champion, promotion and relegation).^[10]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Al-Saqer finished ahead of Al-Rawdhah on overall goal difference: Al-Saqer 0, Al-Rawdhah −4 (Al-Rawdhah 0–1 Al-Saqer, Al-Saqer 0–1 Al-Rawdhah).
2. Al-Lewaa finished ahead of Tuwaiq on head-to-head points: Tuwaiq 1–2 Al-Lewaa, Al-Lewaa 1–1 Tuwaiq.
3. Al-Sharq finished ahead of Al-Sadd on overall goal difference: Al-Sharq −4, Al-Sadd −15 (Al-Sadd 2–1 Al-Sharq, Al-Sharq 1–0 Al-Sadd).

Results

Home \ Away	ARB	BUK	DAH	ENT	LEW	NOJ	RAW	RIY	SAD	SAQ	SHR	WAS	TUW	WEJ
Al-Arabi		2–2	2–0	2–1	2–1	1–0	1–0	1–1	5–0	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–0	2–0
Al-Bukiryah	1–0		2–0	0–0	2–2	4–2	2–2	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–0	3–3	0–0	2–0
Al-Dahab	0–1	1–3		1–1	1–1	1–3	1–0	0–0	0–2	0–0	0–2	3–0	4–0	1–1
Al-Entesar	1–1	6–0	3–0		3–0	2–0	3–1	0–1	0–1	2–0	0–3	1–1	3–2	1–1
Al-Lewaa	0–4	3–2	0–0	1–1		1–1	1–1	1–2	1–1	0–4	3–2	3–2	1–1	3–1
Al-Nojoom	0–0	1–0	1–1	0–2	2–0		1–3	1–1	2–3	1–1	0–0	0–3	4–0	1–2
Al-Rawdhah	1–1	2–4	3–2	3–2	2–1	2–1		0–2	4–1	0–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–4
Al-Riyadh	1–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–1	4–0	4–1		1–1	3–0	1–1	0–1	0–0	2–0
Al-Sadd	1–1	1–0	1–2	2–4	1–2	1–2	0–2	1–2		0–0	2–1	1–0	0–1	0–0
Al-Saqer	0–0	1–1	0–1	1–0	0–0	3–2	0–1	1–2	0–1		2–1	2–1	1–0	3–2
Al-Sharq	1–3	1–1	0–4	0–1	1–1	1–0	1–1	0–1	1–0	2–2		0–1	3–0	1–2
Al-Washm	1–2	2–1	1–0	1–0	0–0	1–1	0–1	1–2	1–1	2–2	2–2		1–2	2–0
Tuwaiq	0–1	2–0	1–0	2–2	1–2	1–0	3–3	0–1	2–0	0–0	2–1	0–1		0–0
Wej	1–3	0–0	1–1	1–0	0–0	0–0	2–0	0–2	2–1	1–1	0–1	3–0	2–2

Updated to match(es) played on 30 March 2022. Source: saff.com.sa
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Group B

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Al-Qaisumah (P)	26	17	3	6	39	23	+16	54	Promotion to the FD League and Qualification to the Final
2	Al-Taraji	26	15	6	5	41	30	+11	51	Qualification for the third place play-offs
3	Al-Najma	26	14	7	5	47	28	+19	49
4	Al-Zulfi	26	13	6	7	58	25	+33	45
5	Al-Ansar	26	9	11	6	38	33	+5	38
6	Al-Taqadom	26	10	6	10	34	33	+1	36[a]
7	Hetten	26	10	6	10	28	35	−7	36[a]
8	Al-Jandal	26	8	10	8	42	39	+3	34[b]
9	Al-Safa	26	9	7	10	22	28	−6	34[b]
10	Al-Rayyan	26	9	5	12	33	46	−13	32
11	Arar	26	7	6	13	38	50	−12	27
12	Al-Nairyah	26	5	9	12	21	33	−12	24
13	Afif (R)	26	4	11	11	33	42	−9	23	Relegation to the Third Division
14	Al-Thoqbah (R)	26	2	7	17	24	53	−29	13

Updated to match(es) played on 31 March 2022. Source: Goalzz
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-Head points; 3) Head-to-Head goal difference; 4) Head-to-Head goal scored; 5) Total goal difference; 6) Total goals scored; 7) Play-off (only for deciding champion, promotion and relegation).^[10]
(P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Al-Taqadom finished ahead of Hetten on head-to-head points: Al-Taqadom 2–0 Hetten, Hetten 0–2 Al-Taqadom.
2. Al-Jandal finished ahead of Al-Safa on head-to-head points: Al-Jandal 1–1 Al-Safa, Al-Safa 0–4 Al-Jandal.

Results

Home \ Away	AFI	ANS	JAN	NAI	NAJ	QAI	RAY	SAF	TAQ	TAR	THO	ZUL	ARA	HET
Afif		2–2	1–1	0–0	0–2	0–1	1–4	3–0	2–0	2–3	2–2	1–4	0–1	2–2
Al-Ansar	3–2		1–1	1–0	1–1	1–0	1–2	0–0	1–3	2–2	4–0	3–2	3–1	2–1
Al-Jandal	1–1	2–2		1–2	3–3	1–2	2–1	1–1	0–1	4–1	0–0	4–4	1–4	0–0
Al-Nairyah	0–1	0–1	1–1		2–3	1–2	0–0	2–0	1–1	0–1	0–0	0–3	2–1	1–2
Al-Najma	2–2	1–1	2–1	4–0		1–0	2–3	1–0	2–1	2–0	5–2	2–0	2–4	3–0
Al-Qaisumah	1–1	1–0	2–1	2–1	1–0		3–0	2–1	2–1	0–1	2–1	1–1	4–0	1–0
Al-Rayyan	3–2	2–1	1–0	1–2	1–2	0–3		1–3	1–1	0–1	2–0	3–3	0–4	1–1
Al-Safa	0–0	1–2	0–4	0–0	2–0	1–0	3–0		0–4	0–0	3–2	1–0	2–0	0–1
Al-Taqadom	1–2	1–1	3–4	0–0	1–0	0–2	2–1	1–2		1–0	1–1	0–2	3–3	2–0
Al-Taraji	2–1	3–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–0		1–0	1–0	5–2	2–0
Al-Thoqbah	2–2	1–1	1–2	1–2	0–3	0–2	2–3	1–0	0–1	2–3		0–3	2–3	1–3
Al-Zulfi	1–0	1–1	3–0	2–0	0–0	5–0	4–0	0–1	5–1	6–1	3–0		2–3	3–0
Arar	2–2	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–2	2–0	0–1	0–0	0–2	0–3	1–2	1–1		1–2
Hetten	2–1	2–1	0–2	2–1	1–1	2–4	2–1	0–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–0	3–0

Updated to match(es) played on 30 March 2022. Source: saff.com.sa
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Third place play-off

Both teams that finish second in Groups A and B will face each other in a two-legged match with the winner gaining promotion to the FD League. The first leg was originally scheduled to be held on 8 April and the second leg on 14 April, however, it was both matches were postponed following an investigation into match-fixing allegations. Al-Riyadh, who finished second in Group A, faced Al-Taraji, who finished second in Group B.^[11] The first leg was played on 15 April and the second leg on 20 April.^[12] Al-Riyadh defeated Al-Taraji 3–2 on aggregate to earn promotion to the Saudi First Division League.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Al-Taraji	2–3	Al-Riyadh	1–1	1–2

First leg

15 April 2022

21:15

Al-Taraji	1–1	Al-Riyadh
Abdessalem 77'	Report	Al-Rashidi 20'

Al-Khaleej Club Stadium, Saihat

Referee: Abdullah Al-Kharboush

Second leg

20 April 2022

21:45

Al-Riyadh	2–1	Al-Taraji
M. Al-Shammeri 55' Malick 65'	Report	Bensib 28'

Prince Turki bin Abdul Aziz Stadium, Riyadh

Referee: Abdullah Al-Harbi

Final

The winners of each group will play a single-legged final on 20 April to decide the champion of the 2021–22 Second Division. As winners of Group A, Al-Arabi faced Al-Qaisumah, the winners of Group B. The match was held at Al-Arabi's home stadium due to them having more points.^[13] Al-Arabi defeated Al-Qaisumah 1–0 to win their second title and first since 1986.

20 April 2022 (2022-04-20)

22:15 AST

Al-Arabi	1–0	Al-Qaisumah
S. Al-Harbi 80'	Report

Department of Education Stadium, Unaizah

Referee: Nahar Al-Baidhani

Statistics

Top scorers

As of 20 April 2022^[14]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Israel Abia	Al-Rawdhah	20
	Youssef Trabelsi	Al-Zulfi
3	Elhadji Malick Tall	Al-Riyadh	17
4	Vanílson	Arar	15
	Mohammed Abdessalem	Al-Taraji
6	Fahad Hadl	Al-Qaisumah	14
7	Ahmad Boussaid	Al-Taraji	13
	Maher Sharoma	Al-Ansar
9	Ricardo	Hetten	12
	Abdullah Al-Qahtani	Al-Arabi

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Ref.
Emmanuel Banahene	Al-Ansar	Arar	3–1 (H)	9 October 2021	[15]
Israel Abia	Al-Rawdhah	Al-Sadd	4–1 (H)	23 October 2021
Elhadji Malick Tall	Al-Riyadh	Al-Rawdhah	4–1 (H)	13 November 2021	[16]
Israel Abia	Al-Rawdhah	Tuwaiq	3–3 (A)	26 November 2021
Aneel Bakaki	Al-Sharq	Al-Entesar	3–0 (A)	10 December 2021
Vanílson	Arar	Al-Taqadom	3–3 (A)	18 December 2021
Youssef Trabelsi	Al-Zulfi	Al-Qaisumah	5–0 (H)	14 January 2022
Vanílson	Arar	Al-Jandal	4–1 (A)	5 February 2022
Abdullah Al-Qahtani	Al-Arabi	Al-Lewaa	4–0 (A)	11 February 2022
Bernard Arthur	Al-Taqadom	Al-Safa	4–0 (A)	12 February 2022
Youssef Trabelsi	Al-Zulfi	Afif	4–1 (A)	4 March 2022
Mohanad Al-Shudukhi	Al-Najma	Al-Thoqbah	5–2 (H)	4 March 2022
Maher Sharoma	Al-Entesar	Al-Bukiryah	6–0 (H)	5 March 2022
Youssef Trabelsi	Al-Zulfi	Al-Taqadom	5–1 (H)	11 March 2022
Faisal Al-Mutairi	Al-Zulfi	Al-Jandal	4–4 (A)	31 March 2022

Note

(H) – Home; (A) – Away

Number of teams by province

Rank	Province	Number	Teams
1	Eastern Province	7	Al-Nairyah, Al-Nojoom, Al-Qaisumah, Al-Rawdhah, Al-Safa, Al-Taraji and Al-Thoqbah
	Riyadh		Afif, Al-Riyadh, Al-Sadd, Al-Sharq, Al-Washm, Al-Zulfi and Tuwaiq
3	Al-Qassim	5	Al-Arabi, Al-Bukiryah, Al-Najma, Al-Saqer and Al-Taqadom
4	Ha'il	2	Al-Lewaa and Al-Rayyan
	Mecca		Al-Entesar and Wej
	Medina		Al-Ansar and Al-Dahab
7	Al Jawf	1	Al Jandal
	Jazan		Hetten
	Northern Borders		Arar

See also

• 2021–22 Saudi Professional League
• 2021–22 Saudi First Division League
• 2021–22 Saudi Third Division