Al-Hilal is the most successful club in the top-tier Saudi football league, amassing a record 21 titles, with their latest triumph in the 2023–24 season. Other prominent clubs, such as Al-Shabab, Al-Ittihad, and Al-Nassr, have contributed significantly to the league's history. Since 2023, the SPL has achieved greater global recognition, fueled by strategic developments under the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative. The nation's Public Investment Fund acquired 75% stakes in four foundational clubs—Al-Ahli, Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal, and Al-Nassr, investing large amounts of money to bring players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema to the league. These efforts have increased the prominence of the SPL in world football.[1][2]
As of 2025, depending on the nation's AFC club competition coefficient[3], three teams from Saudi Arabia qualify annually for the AFC Champions League Elite, Asia's top-tier continental club competition[4] (equivalent in tier to the UEFA Champions League in Europe). The winner of the King's Cup qualifies for the AFC Champions League Two, the second-tier continental competition (equivalent in tier to the UEFA Europa League). If the King's Cup winner has already qualified for the AFC Champions League Elite through their league position, the fourth-placed team in the league qualifies for the AFC Champions League Two instead.
History
Origins (1957–2022)
The origins of the Saudi top division league trace back to the establishment of the His Majesty's League in 1957, which lasted until 1974. It was succeeded by a single transitional season known as the 1974–75 Saudi Categorization League. Following that, the first official season of the Saudi Premier League was the 1976–77 season.
The league operated as a round-robin tournament from its inaugural season until the 1989–90 season. After that, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation merged the league with the King's Cup into a single competition, introducing the Golden Box format. This system featured an end-of-season knockout stage involving the top four teams from the regular league, who competed in semi-finals and a final to determine the national champion.
The round-robin format was reinstated in the 2007–08 season, and the league was rebranded as the Saudi Pro League in 2008. While the Saudi Pro League is a continuation of earlier league formats, its statistics and records are maintained separately, in a manner similar to how the English Premier League is considered distinct from the former Football League First Division.
Following the rebranding to the Saudi Pro League, the competition underwent several sponsorship-driven name changes, reflecting commercial partnerships with various organizations over the years. In addition to commercial titles, the league was also officially named in honor of Crown PrinceMohammed bin Salman during a period, recognizing his support and influence in the development of Saudi sports.[5]
In 2019, the Saudi government, through the General Sports Authority (which was later transformed into the Ministry of Sport), launched the Sports Clubs Support Strategy, allocating over SAR 1.6 billion to improve governance, infrastructure, and fan engagement within the league.[6]
In 2022, Saudi real estate firm Roshn, owned by the Public Investment Fund, signed the largest title sponsorship in the league’s history: a 5‑year agreement worth SAR 478 million (≈ USD 127 million) that granted Roshn the naming rights. From the 2022–23 season onward, the Saudi Pro League was officially renamed the Roshn Saudi League under this deal.[7]
In June 2023, the Public Investment Fund acquired 75% stakes in four major clubs—Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, and Al-Ahli—as part of Saudi Vision 2030.[8] The aim of the initiative is to eliminate club debt, increase market value, and prepare teams for full privatization. The long-term goal is to sell clubs to both domestic and international investors.
The Saudi Pro League underwent a major transformation starting in 2023, following the high-profile signing of Cristiano Ronaldo by Al-Nassr. His move helped attract other global stars, including Neymar, Karim Benzema, Sadio Mané, and N'Golo Kanté, during a record-breaking transfer window in which clubs spent nearly $1 billion acquiring 94 players from Europe’s top leagues.[9][10]
This privatization effort began with Al-Kholood, originally owned by the Ministry of Sport, which became the first Saudi football club to be 100% foreign-owned after being sold to The Harburg Group, led by American businessman Ben Harburg, on 24 July 2025.[11] Lower-division clubs such as Al-Ansar have also been privatized.
The sweeping reforms have drawn international attention and criticism, with some labeling the moves as sportswashing. In response, Saudis argue the investments are part of a broader effort to grow the sport and diversify the economy.[12]
League reputation and competitiveness
Initially, the Saudi Pro League was perceived by some observers as a "retirement league" due to the influx of aging stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. However, the league has since demonstrated ambitions beyond marketing, aiming to become one of the top five leagues in the world. While the SPL has long been among the leading leagues in Asia, recent developments have significantly raised its international profile and competitive standard.
In 2023, several SPL-based players were part of the Ivory Coast squad that won the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. Franck Kessié, Seko Fofana, and Ghislain Konan all played key roles in the tournament while active in the Saudi league. Kessié notably scored the equaliser in the final, a 1–2 comeback win over Nigeria[13], highlighting the continued international impact of players competing in the SPL.
In addition to veteran players, the league has attracted younger talent, including João Félix.[14][15] Brazilian goalkeeper Bento, and Italian-Argentine striker Mateo Retegui[16][17], signaling a broader strategic direction.
The increasing quality of domestic competition has been reflected in the continued international success of players active in the league. Aymeric Laporte was a central figure in Spain’s victorious run at UEFA Euro 2024, winning the tournament while playing in the Saudi Pro League.[18] Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo was the top scorer for Portugal during their victorious 2024–25 UEFA Nations League campaign, playing a pivotal role throughout the tournament and scoring in the final. The final was sealed by teammate Rúben Neves, who converted the decisive penalty in the shoot-out to secure the title.[19] Both players were actively competing in the Saudi Pro League at the time, underscoring its growing competitiveness.
Other Saudi-based players also made notable contributions at Euro 2024, including N'Golo Kanté (France) and Nicolae Stanciu (Romania), further challenging the idea that the league lacks high-level competitiveness.
Until the mid-2020s, historical records of Saudi football prior to the establishment of the top-tier league in 1976 were limited and often inconsistent. This lack of comprehensive documentation led to ongoing debates among fans and historians, particularly regarding the achievements and origins of early clubs and regional competitions.[22]
In response to growing public interest and longstanding criticism, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) launched a multi-year national initiative to document the pre-1976 era of Saudi football, which began in 2023 and concluded in 2025. The project involved collaboration with local historians, journalists, and individuals who witnessed the sport’s early development. Efforts included reviewing newspaper archives, collecting personal testimonies, and verifying historical records from club documents. The initiative was supported by FIFA and a panel of international experts specializing in sports history and archival research.
As a result of the project’s findings, significant changes were made to the official historical records of Saudi football. The founding date of the Saudi top-tier league was revised from 1976 to 1957, acknowledging earlier league-style competitions that had previously been overlooked or classified differently. In addition, several domestic tournaments—including the King's Cup, Prince Faisal bin Fahd Cup, and early regional or lower-division leagues—were re-evaluated and formally incorporated into the official historical framework. All national cups and competitions from the pre-1976 era were reviewed under the project.
Some King's Cup titles from earlier decades were also reclassified as league titles, based on their structure and competitive format at the time. These revisions led to updates in the official title counts of several clubs, prompting renewed interest in the early history of Saudi football and altering longstanding narratives around club achievements and legacies. The findings were published in a comprehensive final report, which SAFF presented to media and football institutions in 2025.[23]
There are 18 clubs in the Saudi Pro League. During the course of a season (usually from August to May), each club plays every other club twice (a double round-robin system), once at their home stadium and once at their opponent’s, for a total of 34 games. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Teams are ranked on the league table based on points first, then head-to-head record in case of a tie, followed by goal difference.
Each club is allowed a maximum of 25 players, including up to 10 foreign players. Of these 10 foreign players, 8 can be of any age, and 2 must be under 20 years old at the time of signing. The remaining 15 players must be Saudi nationals, with a maximum of 5 players allowed to come from the youth sector if needed or wanted.
For each league game, managers can select up to 8 foreign players to be included in the matchday squad.
Promotion and relegation
A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Saudi Pro League and Saudi First Division League. The three lowest-placed teams in the Saudi Pro League are relegated to the First Division, in the first division the top two teams are promoted to the Pro League directly, a play-off system[30] to determine the third team to be promoted alongside the two. Teams placed between third and sixth position take part in the promotion play-offs. The fifth-placed would face the fourth, while the sixth-placed team would face the third. The final would be single-legged, hosted by the higher-placed team.
Saudi Arabian clubs have a distinguished history in Asian football, having won a total of 16 titles across continental competitions. This makes Saudi Arabia the most successful country in Asian club football history. The table below provides a summary of these achievements.
As of the 2025–26 season, 40 clubs have participated in the Saudi top division league, with only three clubs — Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, and Al-Ittihad — never being relegated.
Bold indicates clubs currently competing in the Saudi Pro League.
Note: This count includes only seasons from the inception of the Saudi Premier League to the present day.
The Saudi Pro League Awards are presented annually to recognize the best performers in the League. The awards were first held for the 2018–19 season but were paused from 2019 to 2023. They resumed partially for the 2023–24 season and have continued in full from the 2024–25 season onward, with all major categories awarded.
↑ Note: Much like how the European Cup evolved into the UEFA Champions League, Asia’s top club competition began as the Asian Champion Club Tournament, later becoming the Asian Club Championship, then the AFC Champions League, and now the AFC Champions League Elite.
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