Saudi League: A Look at the 18 Teams and Their History

The Saudi Pro League, also known as the Roshn Saudi League for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of association football in the Saudi league system. It has undergone various changes throughout its history. Initially, it operated as a round-robin tournament from its first season in 1976-77 until the 1989-90 season.

After that, the Saudi Federation decided to merge the football League with the King’s Cup and introduced the Golden Box, an end-of-season knockout competition played between the top four teams. The champions of Saudi Arabia were determined through this competition. However, in the 2007-08 season, the league reverted back to a round-robin system.

The League has consistently performed well in the AFC Champions League, with its clubs achieving success and maintaining a high coefficient ranking in Asia. Al-Hilal is the most successful team in the league’s history, having won 18 titles, including the most recent one in the 2021-22 season.

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Saudi Pro League history

The history of football in Saudi Arabia dates back to the late 1950s when it was organized on a regional basis. The first nationwide tournament was the King’s Cup, and in 1957, the regional tournaments were consolidated into a qualification process for the King’s Cup. However, the winner of the King’s Cup was not considered the league winner.

In 1976, the first-ever professional football league was established in Saudi Arabia with eight teams, which increased to ten the following season. In the 1981-82 season, the Saudi Premier League and the Saudi First Division merged temporarily for the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification process. The following season, the league reverted back to a regular round-robin competition, and the number of first-division clubs increased to 12 in the 1984-85 season.

In 1990, the league was merged with the King Cup to create a new tournament called “The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques League Cup.” This championship had a two-stage format, with a regular league competition followed by a knockout stage.

The league became semi-professional during this time, allowing clubs to sign players on a professional basis. This system lasted for seventeen seasons before returning to a regular round-robin competition. The league became fully professional in 2007.

Saudi League Sponsorship

The Saudi Pro League has had several sponsors throughout its history. From the 2009-10 season to the 2012-13 season, it was sponsored by Zain Group. Then, from the 2013-14 season to the 2017-18 season, Abdul Latif Jameel was the sponsor and the league was known as Dawry Jameel.

However, there was a major restructuring of Saudi football, and the league’s name was changed back to the Saudi Pro League. Starting in 2022, the league is sponsored by Roshn, a real estate division of the Public Investment Fund, and this sponsorship will last for a five-year period.

Format of the League Competition

The Saudi Pro League consists of 18 clubs and follows a double round-robin system, where each club plays against the others twice in a season. This results in a total of 34 games, with teams earning three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. The ranking of teams on the league table is determined by their points, followed by their head-to-head record and goal difference in case of a tie.

There is a promotion and relegation system in place between the Saudi Pro League and the Saudi First Division League. The three teams with the lowest rankings in the Saudi Pro League are relegated to the First Division, while the top three teams from the First Division are promoted to the Saudi Pro League.

Saudi League teams (Current)

This article was updated 8 months ago