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Sport in Saudi Arabia is an important part of Saudi Arabian culture and the country participates in many international sporting competitions along with multiple esport competitions. Football is a particularly popular sport and Saudi Arabia has won the Asian Cup on three occasions, while other sports such as cricket and basketball are also widely followed.
In December 2019, the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee approved the launch of five new sports federations each for hockey, lacrosse, rugby, baseball and softball, thus taking another step towards diversifying the country's sports landscape. [1]
Football is the most popular sport in Saudi Arabia. [2] In recent years, the sport has grown in popularity, and some Saudi players currently play in Europe. The Saudi Arabia national football team is governed by the Saudi Football Federation (SFF). The SFF organises the Saudi leagues, and the Saudi Arabian Cup. The Saudi national team has competed in six FIFA World Cup competitions, in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018 and most recently, in 2022. The Saudi team has also competed in seven AFC Asian Cup competitions, first in 1984. Achievements from the AFC Cup include being the Champions in 1984, 1988, and recently, in 1996. The current player of the year is Hussein Sulaimani,[ when? ] who is the captain of Saudi Arabia football team. Saudi Arabia also regularly participate in the Arabian Gulf Cup, AFC Champions League, and Arab Nations Cup. The kingdom is set to host Supercopa de Espana for the first time. However, the response of international fans, especially from Spain, hasn't been too well, with only under 10% of the tickets been sold until now. [3]
The race is held at the Riyadh Street Circuit in Diriyah, a town in Saudi Arabia located on the north-western outskirts of the capital, Riyadh. The track is 2.495 km (1.550 mi) in length and features 21 turns.
Edition | Track | Winner | Pole position | Fastest lap | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Riyadh Street Circuit | António Félix da Costa | António Félix da Costa | André Lotterer | |
2019 | Race 1 | Sam Bird | Alexander Sims | Mitch Evans | |
Race 2 | Alexander Sims | Alexander Sims | António Félix da Costa | ||
2021 | Race 1 | Nyck de Vries | Nyck de Vries | Stoffel Vandoorne | |
Race 2 | Sam Bird | Robin Frijns | Nyck de Vries | ||
2022 | Race 1 | Nyck de Vries | Stoffel Vandoorne | Nick Cassidy | |
Race 2 | Edoardo Mortara | Nyck de Vries | Sam Bird | ||
2023 | Race 1 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sébastien Buemi | René Rast | |
Race 2 | Pascal Wehrlein | Jake Hughes | Sam Bird |
In 2021, Formula One announced they were going to Saudi Arabia for the first time, with racing held in Jeddah across the Red Sea.
Cricket is the second most popular sport in Saudi Arabia, largely due to the increasing number of South Asian expatriates who play the game during their spare time. However, during recent years cricket has generated interest among many Arab locals, such as Faique Habib and Nadim Al Nadwi, who have both represented Saudi Arabia at the national level. Currently there are over 8000 Saudi cricketers, with nearly 20 percent being local Arabs, and the majority of the rest coming from countries such as Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka.
There are many cricket associations Saudi Arabia, with Yanbu Al Sinaiyah Cricket Association being the largest. Each major city has its own organisation which holds its own domestic cup for each format.
Since 2010 Saudi Arabia has gained quite a lot of fame for its style of cricket, as it has won several regional tournaments on turf, even though back home players only play on concrete. Saudi Arabia's biggest win to date was in September 2016, where they beat a Namibian national side by 141 runs. 2 months later they also won their first major series which came in the form of a quadrangular series also involving Kenya, Uganda and Qatar.
Saudi Arabia's greatest cricketer is Shoaib Ali, who has contributed to major victories both home and away, and who has captained the nation since 2008. He is a bowling all rounder who made his debut against Thailand in the 2008 ACC Under-19 Challenge Cup.
Basketball is also a popular sport in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Premier League has been home to several players who competed at the FIBA Asia Championship and has also attracted NBA players such as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf.
Besides "regular" basketball, 3x3 basketball has become increasingly popular. [6]
Ice hockey is also a minor sport but it has not been popular in Saudi Arabia; the first game occurred in 2010 during the Gulf Ice Hockey Championship.
Professional wrestling has been a recognizable minor sport in Saudi Arabia. The country has hosted one event by the U.S.-based promotion, WWE in Jeddah dubbed the Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27, 2018. The company will host a second event in Riyadh in fall of 2018 as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan. [7]
WWE's programming (e.g. WWE Wal3ooha) airs throughout the country on OSN Sports Action 1 and has access to the WWE Network streaming service.
Rugby union in Saudi Arabia is a minor but growing sport, which has been played for several decades in the Kingdom. Many of the local rugby clubs date back to the late 1970s.
This is a list of Saudi Arabian national sports teams:
Al Riyada was the first sports newspaper in Saudi Arabia founded by Muhammad Abdullah Malibari.
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in the 1950s as an offshoot of the 18th century walled town following the dismantling of its defensive fortifications.
The Saudi Arabia national football team (SAFF) represents Saudi Arabia in men's international football. They are known as Al-Suqour Al-Arabiyyah and sometimes Al-Suqour Al-Khodhur, a reference to their traditional colours of green and white, and represent both FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Ittihad Saudi Arabian Club, commonly known as Ittihad is a Saudi professional football club based in Jeddah. It was founded in 1927. The club has spent its entire history in the top flight of football in Saudi Arabia, currently known as the Saudi Pro League. Ittihad has won 50 championships from which 35 are official championships.
Association football is the most popular sport in Kuwait, followed by basketball and cricket. Additional sports on the rise in Kuwait include powerboating, handball, field hockey, rugby union, and shooting.
Association football and basketball are the most popular sports in Asia. Cricket is the third most popular sport in Asia, and is most popular in South Asia. Other popular sports in Asia include baseball, badminton and table tennis among others. There are also some traditional sports that are popular in certain regions of Asia, such as the South Asian sports kabaddi and kho-kho, and sepak takraw in Southeast Asia. Top sporting nations/regions in Asia include China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Sport in Saint Petersburg has a long tradition, back to the founding days of Saint Petersburg in the early 18th century.
Saudi Arabia is the second biggest tourist destination in the Middle East with over 16 million visiting in 2017. Although most tourism in Saudi Arabia still largely involves religious pilgrimages, there is growth in the leisure tourism sector. As the tourism sector has been largely boosted lately, the sector is expected to a significant industry for Saudi Arabia, reducing its dependence on oil revenues. This is proved as tourism sector is expected to generate $25 billion in 2019. Potential tourist areas include the Hijaz and Sarawat Mountains, Red Sea diving and a number of ancient ruins.
Waleed Abdullah Ali Al-Dawsari is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Al-Diriyah.
Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation is the official governing body of the sport of cricket in Saudi Arabia. Its current headquarters is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is Saudi Arabia's representative at the International Cricket Council, and has been a member of the Council since 2003. It is also a member of the Asian Cricket Council.
Football is the most popular sport in Saudi Arabia. Football in Saudi Arabia is governed by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation (SAFF). It was founded in 1956. It administers both the club competitions and the national football teams of Saudi Arabia.
King Fahd Sports City, also nicknamed "The Tent" or "Pearl of Stadiums", is a multi-purpose stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The stadium, which seated 58,398 spectators, is currently closed for reconstruction that will expand it to approximately 70,200 seats by 2026.
King Abdullah Sports City, also nicknamed The Shining Jewel or simply The Jewel, is a multi-use stadium and sports city located 30 kilometers north of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The city was named after Abdullah, King of Saudi Arabia when the stadium opened.
The Saudi Arabia national basketball team is the national basketball team representing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is administered by the Saudi Arabian Basketball Federation.
Women's sport in Saudi Arabia has been a controversial topic for many years due to the suppression of female participation in sport by conservative Islamic religious authorities.
The Saudi Super Cup is an annual super cup football tournament organized by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, the current edition is known as "The Diriyah Super Cup" for sponsorship reasons.
Saudi Vision 2030 is a government program launched by Saudi Arabia which aims to achieve the goal of increased diversification economically, socially, and culturally, in line with the vision of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. It was first announced on 25 April 2016 by the Saudi government.
The Diriyah ePrix was a race of the single-seater, electrically powered Formula E championship, held in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. It was first held as part of the 2018–19 season and was the first Formula E race to be held in the Middle East. The second Diriyah ePrix was held on 22 and 23 November 2019. The final Diriyah ePrix was held on 26 and 27 January 2024. The final race was won by Nick Cassidy for Jaguar. The Saudi Arabian Formula E round will be moved to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, becoming the Jeddah ePrix.
Sportswashing is a term used to describe the practice of nations, individuals, groups, corporations, or the government using sports to improve reputations tarnished by wrongdoing. A form of propaganda, sportswashing can be accomplished through hosting sporting events, purchasing or sponsoring sporting teams, or participating in a sport.
The Saudi Women's Premier League is the top flight of women's association football in Saudi Arabia.
SSC is a Saudi sports network and the exclusive owner of the rights of television broadcast of the Saudi Pro League, King’s Cup and Saudi Super Cup, in addition to some continental and almost all local championships and competitions.