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Football in Saudi Arabia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Football in Saudi Arabia
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Football is one of the most popular sports in Saudi Arabia. Approximately 50% of the Saudi population is interested in and identify as fans of the sport.[1] Saudi Arabia has been a FIFA member since 1956, after establishing it's governing body: the Saudi Arabia Football Federation (SAFF) (Arabic: الاتحاد السعودي لكرة القدم).[2] The SAFF administers the national football teams and the nation's growing club league system.

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Uruguay-Saudi Arabia match at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia
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Saudi Men's National Team at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. They were the only team to defeat Argentina, that years World Cup champions.

Saudi Arabia's National Football team first made the 1994 FIFA World Cup, hosted in the United States. Over 30 years later, on December 11, 2024, FIFA announced Saudi Arabia would be the host of the 2034 World Cup.[3] The SAFF prepared the only bid for the tournament's nomination process.

Fandom in Saudi Arabia's league system has increased since the turn of the 21st century. The same period has seen the privatization of once state-owned clubs and the record-breaking signings of international footballers. Both components of Saudi Arabia's sports agenda are national elements in the Saudi Vision 2030 development plan.[4][5]

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History

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The first recorded history of football in Saudi Arabia comes from 1902. The first club founded in Saudi Arabia was Al-Ittihad (Jeddah) in 1927.[6] Clubs including Al-Ahli (Jeddah), Al-Ettifaq (Dammam), Al-Shabab (Riyadh), Al-Riyadh (Riyadh), Al-Nassr (Riyadh), and Al-Hilal (Riyadh) were all founded between 1927-1957.[7] In 1956, Prince Abdullah bin Faisal al Saud founded the Saudi Arabia Football Federation (SAFF, occasionally shorthanded to SFF), as a central governing body for football in the nation[8]. Ending in a 1-1 draw, the national team played it's first match on October 20, 1957 against the Syrian National Football Team in Beirut, Lebanon.[9]

National Football Team

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). On October 15, 2025, the team qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, their seventh tournament berth.[10] As of 21 November 2025, Saudi Arabia is placed 60th in the FIFA World Rankings.[11]

Rivalries

Saudi Arabia has a major rivalry with Iran in football.[12][13] In the past few decades, Saudi Arabia has also developed rivalries with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), two countries in what has been called the "football triangle" of the Middle East.[12] Also, the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iraq has recently been re-established, as in 2018 the Falcons traveled to Basra, Iraq to play a club team in a friendly. Weeks later, FIFA, in-part convinced by the SAFF, allowed Iraq to host international matches for the first time since 1990.[14][15]

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.[16]

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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

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

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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

The current Saudi Pro League (SPL) was formally organized in 2008. As of 2025, there are 18 teams that compete in Saudi Arabia's top league.[17] Comparisons have been made between SPL and the United States' Major League Soccer (MLS) and China's Chinese Super League (CSL), as they gained popularity and secured investments in the same time period.[18]

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.[19] 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.

The 2024-25 season broke the Saudi Pro League's attendance record with over 2.5 million fans attending 306 matches.[20]

Saudi Vision 2030

Main article: Saudi Vision 2030

In 2016, Saudi Arabia unveiled their future structural development plan, Saudi Vision 2030. The plan's goals are to uncouple state-wealth from non-renewable fuel exports and promote private strategic investment in the state.[21] The government of Saudi Arabia is interested in societal change. One of the ways to get there, according to them, is strategically investing in sport.[22] In 2023, it was announced that there would be US$2 billion invested over five years solely for sports related ventures.[23] In November 2016, the government of Saudi Arabia approved plans to turn state-owned sports clubs into private companies.[24] Some have made the comparison between Saudi Arabia's government and the governments of former World Cup hosts South Korea (2002) and Qatar (2022). The two nations invested heavily in sport prior to hosting the tournament. Saudi Arabia will host the World Cup in 2034.[25] With the investment and improvement of football for Saudi Arabia's main rivals, the UAE and Qatar, arguments have been made that this investment is a push to get even with other Middle East football powerhouses.[26]

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Events hosted

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National team

Main article: Saudi Arabia national football team

Achievements

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Leagues of Saudi Arabia

As of 2025

Leagues – Men
Leagues – Youth
  • Youth – Premier Division League U-19
  • Youth – First Division League U-19
  • Youngster – Premier Division League U-17
  • Youngster – First Division League U-17
  • Youngster – Premier Division League U-15
  • Youngster – First Division League U-15
  • Youngster – Premier Division League U-13
  • Youngster – First Division League U-13
Leagues – Women
Cups – Men
Cups – Women
Other - Men
  • Saudi Beach Soccer Premier League
  • Saudi Futsal Premier League
  • Saudi Futsal First Division League
  • SAFF Futsal Cup
  • Saudi Futsal Super Cup
Other - Women
  • Saudi Women's Futsal Tournament
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List of the men Top League champions

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Stadiums

Main article: List of football stadiums in Saudi Arabia
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Best Player of Asia award

Main article: Asian Footballer of the Year
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League system

Main article: Saudi football league system

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.[27][28] In February 2020, Saudi Arabia launched a football league for women.[29]

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.[30] Once complete, the academy will be one of the largest in the world.[31] In February 2024, The SAFF announced the accreditation of 33 existing private football academies. SAFF confirms the total number of football academies eligible for competitive play is now over 100.[32]

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See also

References

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