Saudi Pro League
File:Logo của giải Saudi Professional League.webp | |
Founded | 1976 |
---|---|
Country | Saudi Arabia |
Confederation | AFC |
Number of clubs | 16 (18 in 2023–24) |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Relegation to | FDL |
Domestic cup(s) | Kings Cup Super Cup |
International cup(s) | AFC Champions League UAFA Club Cup GCC Champions League |
Current champions | Al-Hilal (17th title) (2020–21) |
Most championships | Al-Hilal (17 titles) |
Most appearances | Mohamed Al-Deayea (406) |
Top goalscorer | Majed Abdullah (189 goals) |
TV partners | Shahid |
Website | http://www.spl.com.sa |
Current: 2021–22 Saudi Professional League |
The Saudi Professional League (Template:Lang-ar, Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī), also known as the SPL,[1] or MBS League,[2] is the top division of association football in the Saudi Arabian league system. From 2013 to 2019, it was known as the Abdul Latif Jameel League, or Dawry Jameel, as it was sponsored by Abdul Latif Jameel.[3][4][5][6]
The first season of competition was the 1976–77 season.[7] Al Hilal is the most successful team, holding 17 titles in its history and most recently winning the title in 2020–21.
History
Up until the late 1950s, football in Saudi Arabia was organized on a regional basis, with the only nationwide tournament being the King's Cup. In 1957, the first national league consolidated the regional tournaments of the Central, West, East and North regions. Clubs competed in their regional leagues to qualify for the King's Cup, which was the final stage of the competition. The winner of the King's Cup id not the league winner.[8]
In 1981, it was decided to increase the number of clubs and add a second division. The league competition for the 1981–82, known as the ranking league, featured 18 clubs with the top eight qualifying for the first division and the bottom ten to the new second division. The number of first-division clubs was later increased to 12 in the 1984–85 season.
In 1990, it was decided to revamp local competitions and to introduce professional football. A new league championship was formed called "The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques League Cup", which was a two-stage championship. The first stage was a regular double round-robin league competition with the top 4 qualifying to the final knockout stage, called the golden square. Clubs were allowed to sign players on a professional basis making the league semi professional.
The league became professional in 2007.[9]
As of 2008, four teams from Saudi Arabia qualify for the AFC Champions League annually. This includes the top three teams of the league, together with the winner of the King Cup. If the winner of the King Cup is also among the four top teams then the fourth-best team qualifies to the extensions and if the winner of the King Cup is under the four top teams then the fourth team will not qualify and the third team will qualify for the extension.
List of teams (2021–22 season)
For details on the 2021–22 Saudi Professional League season, see here.
- Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|
Abha | Abha | Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium | 20,000[10] |
Al-Ahli | Jeddah | King Abdullah Sports City | 62,345 |
Al-Batin | Hafar al-Batin | Al-Batin Club Stadium | 6,000[11] |
Al-Ettifaq | Dammam | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium | 35,000[12] |
Al-Faisaly | Harmah | Al Majma'ah Sports City [1] | 7,000 |
Al-Fateh | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium | 26,000[13][14] |
Al-Fayha | Al Majma'ah | Al Majma'ah Sports City | 7,000 |
Al-Hazem | Ar Rass | Al-Hazem Club Stadium | 8,000[15] |
Al-Hilal | Riyadh | King Fahd International Stadium [2] | 62,685 |
Al-Ittihad | Jeddah | King Abdullah Sports City | 62,345 |
Al-Nassr | Riyadh | Mrsool Park | 25,000 |
Al-Raed | Buraidah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium | 25,000 |
Al-Shabab | Riyadh | Prince Khalid bin Sultan Stadium | 15,000 |
Al-Taawoun | Buraidah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium | 25,000 |
Al-Tai | Ḥaʼil | Prince Abdul Aziz bin Musa'ed Stadium | 12,000[16] |
Damac | Khamis Mushait | Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium [3] | 20,000 |
1: ^ Al-Faisaly play their home games in Al Majma'ah.
2: ^ Al-Hilal also use Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium (22,500 seats) as a home stadium.
List of champions
|
|
|
Performance by club
Most successful clubs
# | Club | Winners | Runners-up |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Al-Hilal | 17 |
14
|
2 | Al-Nassr | 8 |
6
|
3 | Al Ittihad | 8 |
7
|
4' | Al-Shabab | 6 |
4
|
5 | Al-Ahli | 3 |
9
|
6 | Al-Ettifaq | 2 |
1
|
7 | Al-Fateh | 1 |
0
|
8 | Al-Riyadh | 0 |
1
|
Total titles won by city
City | Number of titles | Clubs |
---|---|---|
Riyadh | 31
|
Al-Hilal (17), Al-Nassr (8), Al-Shabab (6) |
Jeddah | 12
|
Al-Ittihad (8), Al-Ahli (4) |
Dammam | 2
|
Al-Ettifaq (2) |
Al-Hasa | 1
|
Al-Fateh (1) |
Top scorers
Most goals
Boldface indicates a player still active in the Pro League.
Rank | Player | Club(s) | Years | Goals | Apps | Ratio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Majed Abdullah | Al-Nassr | 1977–1997 | 189 | 194 | 0.97 |
2 | Nasser Al-Shamrani | Al-Wehda, Al-Shabab, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad | 2003–2019 | 167 | 301 | 0.55 |
3 | Omar Al Somah | Al-Ahli | 2014– | 144 | 176 | 0.94 |
4 | Fahad Al-Hamdan | Al-Riyadh | 1985–2000 | 120 | 252 | 0.48 |
5 | Yasser Al-Qahtani | Al-Qadsiah, Al-Hilal | 2000–2018 | 112 | 206 | 0.56 |
6 | Mohammad Al-Sahlawi | Al-Qadsiah, Al-Nassr, Al-Shabab, Al-Taawoun | 2005– | 106 | 244 | 0.45 |
7 | Sami Al-Jaber | Al-Hilal | 1988–2007 | 101 | 268 | 0.38 |
8 | Hamzah Idris | Ohod, Al-Ittihad | 1992–2007 | 96 | N/A | |
9 | Obeid Al-Dosari | Al-Wehda, Al-Ahli | 1996–2005 | 93 | N/A | |
10 | Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad | 2018– | 87 | 82 |
Top scorers by season
See also
- Saudi Arabian Football Federation
- King Cup
- Saudi Super Cup
- Saudi Crown Prince Cup
- King Abdulaziz
- Prince Faisal bin Fahd League U-21
References
- ^ The notation used in the logo is "SPL" or "MBS".
- ^ Official SAFF site in English
- ^ Aboulkheir, Rajia (25 February 2015). "Meet Jameel, the Saudi Football League's new showman". Al Arabiya English. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ "Abdul Latif Jameel marks a year of success at SIMS '13". Saudi Gazette. 3 January 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ "Jameel League sponsorship hits the target". Opening Doors. Abdul Latif Jameel. Winter 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ Varvodic, Marin (24 January 2016). "Al RiyadyaTV (Saudi Sport) – live on sat football via Nilesat 7°W". SportEventz. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ "Live Scores – Clubs: Al Hilalclub_hint=Al Nassr". FIFA. Archived from the original on August 1, 2009.
- ^ دوري المحترفين السعودي, ويكيبيديا، الموسوعة الحرة (in Arabic), 2019-05-16, retrieved 2019-05-18
- ^ "Morocco's Abderrazak Hamdallah breaks scoring record in Saudi Arabia". 19 April 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Prince Sultan Sport City Stadium (Mahalah)".
- ^ "Al batin Club Stadiuem".
- ^ "Prince Mohammed Bin Fahad Stadium".
- ^ "ملعب الأحساء ينهي استعداداته لاستقبال العائلات".
- ^ "Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Sports City Stadium".
- ^ "Alhazm Club Stadium".
- ^ "استاد الأمير عبدالعزيز بن مساعد بن جلوي". kooora.com. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- ^ "احصائيات هدافي الدوري تاريخيا والاكثر حصولا على لقب الهداف".
- ^ "ماجد عبد الله، السهلاوي والقحطاني وأبرز الهدافيين التاريخيين في الدوري السعودي".
External links
- MBS League SAFF
- Saudi Pro League Statistics
- Saudi Professional League Commission (in Arabic)
- Abdul Latif Jameel League (in Arabic)
- Saudi Arabia Football Federation at FIFA.com
- Saudi Arabia - List of Champions at RSSSF.com
- Saudi Pro League summary(SOCCERWAY)