History
The roots of the foundation of Al-Ula FC go back to 1978 when a friendly match was held between two amateur sides in the city. [3] The match was attended by the governor of Medina Province at the time Prince Abdul Muhsin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Following the match's success, the two teams' leaders agreed to merge both clubs into one that would represent the governorate. The club was officially registered with the General Presidency of Youth Welfare in 1981 under the name of Wadi Al-Qura. A few years later the club changed their to Al-Ula. Since its inception, the club has had eight presidents, with Mousa Abdulwahed being the first. [4]
Al-Ula had a relatively anonymous existence in the lower tiers of Saudi football until June 2023, when the club came under the control of the Royal Commission for Al-'Ula, a state commission under Mohammed bin Salman as part of the Saudi Vision 2030. [5] [6] [7]
As part of the takeover, the club made substantial investments in new players, including Brazilian forward Allan Sousa, who joined from Danish club AaB for an annual salary believed to be €2.5 million. This significant signing occurred despite the club's participation in the Saudi Third Division, which is the fourth tier of the Saudi football league system. [8] [9] Sousa was presented alongside Nigerian forward Christian Irobiso. [10] Sousa and Irobiso became the first foreign players in the club's history. In addition to Sousa and Irobiso's signings, the club also made other high-profile signings including former Saudi international Hamad Al-Juhaim, Ghallab Al-Enezi, Fahad Al-Johani and Muhannad Awadh. All of whom joined from First Division sides. During the January transfer window, Al-Ula made further additions to their squad including First Division top scorer Ousmane Barry, and Pro League winners Aqeel Baalghyth and Housain Al-Mogahwi. On 8 March 2024, Al-Ula secured promotion to the third tier, the Saudi Second Division League, for the first time in history after beating Al-Fao 3–1 in the final matchday of the group stages. [11] On 23 March 2024, Al-Ula won the Saudi Third Division for the first time after defeating Al-Anwar 8–7 on penalties (2–2 after extra time) in the final. [12]
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