Saudi Pro League facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Saudi Pro League

Organising body	Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF)
Founded	1976; 49 years ago (1976)
Country	Saudi Arabia
Confederation	AFC
Number of teams	18
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Saudi First Division League
Domestic cup(s)	King Cup Super Cup
International cup(s)	AFC Champions League Elite AFC Champions League Two (King's Cup Winners) Arab Club Champions Cup
Current champions	Al-Hilal (19th title) (2023-24)
Most championships	Al-Hilal (19 titles)
Most appearances	Mohamed Al-Deayea (406)
Top goalscorer	Majed Abdullah (189 goals)
TV partners	Shahid and SSC (MENA)

The Saudi Pro League (SPL) is the top football league in Saudi Arabia. It is also known as the Roshn Saudi League for sponsorship reasons. This league is where the best football clubs in Saudi Arabia compete to become champions.

The league started in the 1976–77 season. At first, teams played each other twice in a "round-robin" style. Later, the Saudi Football Federation changed the rules. They combined the league with the King's Cup. They also added a "Golden Box" knockout stage. This meant the top four teams played semi-finals and a final to decide the champion. In the 2007–08 season, the league went back to the simple round-robin system.

The Saudi Pro League is one of the strongest leagues in Asia. Its clubs often do very well in the AFC Champions League Elite. Al-Hilal is the most successful team. They have won 19 titles, including the 2023–24 season. Other strong teams include Al-Shabab, Al-Ittihad, and Al-Nassr.

In 2023, the league became famous worldwide. Many top players from European leagues joined Saudi clubs. They signed very good contracts. This made the league full of famous players. The Saudi government's Public Investment Fund bought 75% of four big clubs. This was part of a plan called Saudi Vision 2030.

History of the League

Before the late 1950s, football in Saudi Arabia was played mostly in local areas. The King's Cup was the only national tournament. In 1957, regional tournaments were linked. Clubs played in their local leagues to qualify for the King's Cup. The King's Cup winner was not the league champion back then.

The first professional football league began in 1976. It started with eight teams. The next season, it grew to ten teams. In the 1981–82 season, the Saudi Premier League and the Saudi First Division joined for one season. This was to help with the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification. Twenty teams were split into two groups. The top two from each group played in semi-finals to find the champion. The league went back to normal the next season. The number of first-division clubs increased to 12 in 1984–85.

In December 1990, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation decided to change things. They combined the league and the King Cup. They wanted to make football more professional. A new championship was created. It was called "The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques League Cup." This championship had two parts. First, a regular league season where teams played each other twice. Then, the top four teams went into a knockout stage called the "golden box." Clubs could sign players as professionals. This system lasted for 17 seasons. In 2007, the league became fully professional.

As of 2024, three Saudi teams can play in the AFC Champions League Elite each year. These are the top three teams from the league. The winner of the King Cup qualifies for the AFC Champions League Two. If the King Cup winner is already in the top three, then the fourth-best team from the league goes to the AFC Champions League Two.

The 2023 Player Revolution

In 2023, the Saudi Pro League became very popular around the world. Many famous players from Europe joined Saudi clubs. Cristiano Ronaldo was the first big star to move. Many people say he started this "revolution" in Asian football. When Neymar joined Al-Hilal, he also said Ronaldo changed the league. Other famous players who joined include Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kanté, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané, and Riyad Mahrez.

The Saudi government's Public Investment Fund bought 75% of four main clubs in June 2023. These clubs were Al-Ahli, Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal, and Al-Nassr. This was part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan. This plan aims to make Saudi Arabia's economy stronger and more diverse.

League Sponsors Over Time

The league has had different sponsors over the years.

• From 2009 to 2013, it was called "Zain league" because of Zain Group.
• From 2013 to 2018, Abdul Latif Jameel sponsored it. It was known as "Jameel league."
• From 2018 to 2022, it went back to being called the "Saudi Pro League."
• Since the 2022-23 season, Roshn has been the sponsor. It is now called the "Roshn Saudi League." Roshn is a real estate company owned by the Public Investment Fund.

How the Competition Works

League Structure

There are 18 clubs in the Saudi Pro League. A season usually runs from August to May. Each club plays every other club twice. They play once at home and once away. This means each team plays 34 games in total.

Teams get three points for a win. They get one point for a draw (a tie). No points are given for a loss. Teams are ranked in the league table by their total points. If teams have the same points, their head-to-head record is checked. Then, goal difference is used to decide who is higher.

Moving Up and Down the League

The Saudi Pro League has a system for teams to move up or down. This is called promotion and relegation.

• The three teams at the bottom of the Saudi Pro League table are moved down. They go to the Saudi First Division League.
• The top three teams from the First Division are moved up. They join the Saudi Pro League for the next season.

Current Teams in the League

For more details on the 2023–24 season, see here.

Note: The table lists teams in alphabetical order.

Who Are the Champions?

List of League Winners by Season

Most Successful Clubs

This table shows which clubs have won the most titles.

Titles by City

This table shows how many titles clubs from each city have won.

Teams That Have Played in the League

As of 2023, 38 different clubs have played in the Saudi top football division. Teams in bold are currently playing in the league.

Top Goal Scorers

All-Time Top Scorers

Boldface means the player is still active in the Pro League.

Rank	Player	Goals	Apps	Ratio	First Season	Last Season	Club(s)
1	Majed Abdullah	189	194	0.97	1977	1997	Al-Nassr
2	Nasser Al-Shamrani	167	301	0.55	2003	2019	Al-Wehda, Al-Shabab, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad
3	Omar Al Somah	144	180	0.80	2014	2022	Al-Ahli
4	Abderrazak Hamdallah	129	137	0.94	2018	2024	Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad
5	Fahd Al-Hamdan	120	252	0.48	1984	2000	Al-Riyadh
6	Yasser Al-Qahtani	112	206	0.54	2000	2018	Al-Qadsiah, Al-Hilal
7	Mohammad Al-Sahlawi	111	257	0.43	2005	2022	Al-Qadsiah, Al-Nassr, Al-Shabab, Al-Taawoun
8	Sami Al-Jaber	101	268	0.38	1988	2007	Al-Hilal
9	Hamzah Idris	96	–	–	1992	2007	Ohod, Al-Ittihad
10	Obeid Al-Dosari	91	–	–	1996	2005	Al-Wehda, Al-Ahli

Top Scorers Each Season

Season	Nat.	Top scorer(s)	Club(s)	Goals
1974–75		Mohammad S. Abdeli	Al-Nassr	13
1976–77		Nasser Eid	Al-Qadsiah	7
1977–78		Motamad Khojali	Al-Ahli	14
1978–79		Majed Abdullah	Al-Nassr	18
1979–80		Majed Abdullah	Al-Nassr	17
1980–81		Majed Abdullah	Al-Nassr	21
1981–82		Khalid Al-Ma'ajil	Al-Shabab	22
1982–83		Majed Abdullah	Al-Nassr	14
1983–84		Hussam Abu Dawood	Al-Ahli	14
1984–85		Hathal Dosari	Al-Hilal	15
1985–86		Majed Abdullah	Al-Nassr	15
1986–87		Mohammad Suwaidi	Al-Ittihad	17
1987–88		Khalid Al-Ma'ajil	Al-Shabab	12
1988–89		Majed Abdullah	Al-Nassr	19
1989–90		Sami Al-Jaber	Al-Hilal	16
1990–91		Fahad Al-Mehallel	Al-Shabab	20
1991–92		Saeed Al-Owairan	Al-Shabab	16
1992–93		Sami Al-Jaber	Al-Hilal	18
1993–94		Moussa N'Daw	Al-Hilal	15
1994–95		Fahd Al-Hamdan	Al-Riyadh	15
1995–96		Ohene Kennedy	Al-Nassr	14
1996–97		Ahmed Bahja	Al-Ittihad	21
1997–98		Sulaiman Al-Hadaithy	Al-Najma	15
1998–99		Obeid Al-Dosari	Al-Wehda	20
1999–00		Hamzah Idris	Al-Ittihad	33
2000–01		Paulo da Silva	Al-Ettifaq	13
2001–02		Diene Faye	Al-Riyadh	10
2002–03		Carlos Tenorio	Al-Nassr	15
2003–04		Godwin Attram Kandia Traoré	Al-Shabab Al-Hilal	15
2004–05		Mohammed Manga	Al-Shabab	15
2005–06		Essa Al-Mehyani	Al-Wehda	16
2006–07		Godwin Attram	Al-Shabab	13
2007–08		Nasser Al-Shamrani	Al-Shabab	18
2008–09		Nasser Al-Shamrani Hicham Aboucherouane	Al-Shabab Al-Ittihad	12
2009–10		Mohammad Al-Shalhoub	Al-Hilal	12
2010–11		Nasser Al-Shamrani	Al-Shabab	17
2011–12		Nasser Al-Shamrani Victor Simões	Al-Shabab Al-Ahli	21
2012–13		Sebastián Tagliabué	Al-Shabab	19
2013–14		Nasser Al-Shamrani	Al-Hilal	21
2014–15		Omar Al Somah	Al-Ahli	22
2015–16		Omar Al Somah	Al-Ahli	27
2016–17		Omar Al Somah	Al-Ahli	24
2017–18		Ronnie Fernández	Al-Fayha	13
2018–19		Abderrazak Hamdallah	Al-Nassr	34
2019–20		Abderrazak Hamdallah	Al-Nassr	29
2020–21		Bafétimbi Gomis	Al-Hilal	24
2021–22		Odion Ighalo	Al-Hilal	24
2022–23		Abderrazak Hamdallah	Al-Ittihad	21
2023–24		Cristiano Ronaldo	Al-Nassr	35

Where to Watch the Games

Here are some of the broadcasters that show the Saudi Pro League games around the world.

Country	Broadcaster	Ref.
Middle East and North Africa	Shahid Saudi Sports Company
Austria	DAZN
Belgium
Canada
Germany
Ireland
United Kingdom
Australia	10 Play
Balkans	Sport Klub
Brazil	Paramount+
	Canal GOAT
Caribbean	DSports
South America
China	Bilibili Migu tv Tencent Zhibo8
France	Canal+
Greece	Cosmote Sport
Hungary	Spíler TV
India	Sony Sports Network
Italy	La7
	Sportitalia
Israel	Sport 5
Japan	Abema
Myanmar	Sky Net
Portugal	Sport TV
Romania	Prima Sport
South Korea	SPOTV
Hong Kong
South East Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa	StarTimes Sports
Spain	Marca.com
Turkey	S Sport
	TV8.5
United States	Fox Sports
Vietnam	VieON

See also

In Spanish: Liga Profesional Saudí para niños