the date
Before the founding of the Saudi Football Federation, the first official Saudi championship was played in a knockout system in 1951, when the official body supervising football in the country, the General Administration of Sports and Scouting of the Ministry of Interior “at that time,” organized a football tournament called the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz Cup. Al Saud (then Minister of Interior) and Al-Ittihad Club won the championship.
The tournaments between 1957-1974 are officially considered part of the Saudi King’s Cup tournaments. However, according to the opinions of some researchers, such as Nabih Saati, he considers that the beginning of the Saudi League and Cup League competitions began in 1377 AH (1957), and he wrote: “The Saudi General League began in 1957 between the clubs of Mecca and Jeddah, then the Riyadh clubs, then the clubs of the Eastern Province, then the Qassim clubs, then Hail clubs, and the regional leagues were qualifiers to reach the finals of the Saudi General Football League called the King’s Cup, where the winner of each regional league qualifies for the final stage, which was called the Saudi General Football League for the King’s Cup, and the regional leagues were not tournaments as some believe, but rather “It was a qualifier to advance to the final stage of the general league.”
The first match in the King’s Cup started at 5:10 pm on Friday, Jumada Al-Awwal 14, 1377, between Al-Ittihad from Jeddah and Al-Shababah from Mecca and ended with Al-Ittihad’s victory 3-1. Al-Wahda was crowned champion of the first edition after defeating Al-Ittihad in the final 4-0. Al-Ittihad took revenge for its defeat in the first tournament by defeating Al-Wahda in the final of the tournament for three consecutive years. The Central Region participated for the first time in 1962, and Al-Hilal won the title from the first participation after defeating Al-Wahda. In the final 3-2.
The language of players' names
On October 6, 2020, the Ministry of Sports decided to write the players’ names in Arabic on their shirts instead of English. Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Saud, the Saudi Minister of Sports, said, “I am pleased to announce the participation of the sports sector in activating the Year of Arabic Calligraphy initiative by Arabizing the names on the players’ shirts.” Prince Mohammed bin Salman Professional Cup League clubs for the new football season.”
The Saudi League with its various names
Construction
Until 1974 AD (1394 AH), the football league championship in Saudi Arabia contained regional championships. In that year, it was decided to unify it with a points league system across the Kingdom, with two levels: the excellent and the first.
In order to determine the clubs participating in the two divisions, the Saudi Football General Assembly (currently the Saudi Football Federation) decided on 9/7/1394 AH to hold a classification league of 16 clubs from various parts of the Kingdom, divided into two groups, so that the top four from each group would qualify for the division. Premier League, and the bottom four of each group participate in the First Division League.
Classification League 1974–1975
The classification league was held in the 1394-1395 AH season (1974-1975), and the first group included Al-Hilal, Al-Ahly, Al-Wahda, Al-Yamamah (currently Riyadh Club), Al-Ittifaq, Al-Ansar, Al-Khaleej, and Al-Rabie clubs, and the second group included Al-Nasr, Al-Ittihad, Al-Shabab, Al-Kifah (currently Hira), Al-Qadisiyah, Al-Nahda, Uhud, and Okaz clubs.
Al-Hilal, Al-Ahly, Al-Wahda, Al-Yamamah (currently Sajer), Al-Nasr, Al-Ittihad, Al-Shabab and Al-Qadisiyah clubs qualified for the Premier League, and the other eight clubs joined the First Division League. Al-Nasr and Al-Hilal faced off in the final of the classification league, with Al-Nasr winning the championship after winning 3-1.
Points system 1976–1990
The Saudi Premier League (or Premier League) began in late 1395 AH (1975 AD), but it was decided to cancel it 33 days later after the assassination of King Faisal. Therefore, the actual start of the league was in 1396-1397 AH (1976-77 AD), and it ended with Al-Hilal Club achieving its first title and receiving the league shield. The following season, the number of participating teams was increased from eight to ten.
In the third season of the league (1398-1399 AH) (1978-79 AD), foreign professional players were allowed in the league, the most prominent of whom was the Brazilian national team captain Roberto Rivalino, who played for Al Hilal Club.
In the fifth season (1402 AH) (1982 AD), it was decided to replace the league system with the (joint league) system for one year only due to the Saudi national team’s participation in the World Cup qualifiers for that year. The Premier League and First Division clubs were combined into one competition of 20 teams divided into two groups, with the first and second from each group qualifying for the semi-finals of one match, and the two winners would play a final match. Al-Ittihad Club won the Championship Cup after defeating Al-Shabab Club 1-0. At the end of the joint league, the Saudi Football Federation decided to prevent foreign players from participating in Saudi competitions.
In the eighth season (1405 AH) (1985 AD), the number of participating teams was increased from 10 teams to 12 teams. In the following season (1406 AH) (1986 AD), the Premier League teams were divided into two groups of six clubs, with the first and second placed teams from each group qualifying for the
In the final league, while the clubs with the remaining positions in each group compete with their counterparts in the other group. The final round was held between Al-Hilal, Al-Nasr, Al-Ittihad, and Al-Wahda in a round-trip league system, and Al-Hilal won first place and the championship shield. That season, matches were held on natural grass for the first time.
The league then returned to the traditional points system and continued that way until the end of the 1410 AH (1990 AD) season, which Al Hilal Club won.
Golden Square system 1991–2007
In the league's fifteenth season 1990-91, the name of the competition was changed to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques League Cup, and a golden square system was introduced to determine the champion of the competition, so that the four-place finishers in the league competition competed in a semi-final stage in a round-trip knockout manner. The system stipulates that the first-place holder will play with the third-place holder, and the second-place holder will play with the fourth-place holder, and the two winning teams will play a one-match final match for the League Cup instead of the old League Shield. Al-Shabab Club won the championship by defeating Al-Nasr in the final match in Jeddah with a score of 1-0. The Golden Square system continued for sixteen seasons after that until it was canceled at the end of the 1428 AH season - 2007.
In the 1413 AH season (1992-1993 AD), the professionalism of local players was implemented for the first time in the history of Saudi football, and from that time the Saudi Premier League became a semi-professional competition, as a large percentage of each club’s players became full-time players under the professional system. In that season, clubs in the Premier League were also allowed to bring in foreign players, with three foreign players for each club. It was initially stipulated that no more than two foreign players should participate at one time, then all three were allowed to participate at any time.
After that, some minor amendments were made to the league system with the aim of giving some additional advantages to the winner of the preliminary round with the points system, after the Golden Square system faced much criticism on the grounds that it did not adequately reward the teams for their efforts in the preliminary round. The first amendment was to make the first-place team play with the fourth-place team instead of the third-place team in the semi-finals, starting in the 1417 AH season. In the 1422 AH (2002 AD) season, the golden square began to be held in a ladder manner, so that the first-place holder qualifies directly to the final match, while the third-place holder plays at home with the fourth-place holder, and the winner of them meets the second-place holder on the second-place turf, and then the winner advances. To meet the first-place finisher in the final match. Al-Hilal, which ranked first, defeated Al-Ittihad, which ranked second, in the final match in Jeddah, with a score of 2-1.
In the thirty-first season (1428 AH, corresponding to 2007 AD), the league was held in the golden square system for the last time, when Al-Ittihad Club, which ranked second, defeated Al-Hilal, the leader of the preliminary round, in the final match in Riyadh with a score of 2-1.
Return of the points system 2007–present
The league was held using the traditional points method in the 1429 AH (2007–08 AD) season for the first time in 17 seasons. The league ended with Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad clubs tied on points, and Al-Hilal was crowned with the new league shield due to its superiority over Al-Ittihad in direct confrontations, according to the tournament system announced before the start of the season, after its victory over Al-Ittihad in the last round of the league with a score of 1-0.
At the beginning of the 2008-2009 season (1430 AH), it was decided to convert the league to full professionalism in line with the requirements of the Asian Football Confederation, but the requirement to increase the teams to 16 clubs was not implemented, as is the case in professional leagues, due to individual decisions from the previous Saudi Federation, and a separate body was established. On behalf of the Saudi Football Federation, it is responsible for managing the league, and it was named the Saudi Professional League Authority (later transformed into an association), provided that all amateur players participating in the league are transformed into professionals as soon as possible. Al-Ittihad regained the title from Al-Hilal that season in the final round of the league when it won in Riyadh with a score of 2-1.
At the end of the 2009-2010 season (1431 AH), an official decision was made by the Saudi Federation to increase the number of teams participating in the league from 12 teams to 14 teams, starting from the 2010-11 season, with the aim of reconsidering increasing the league to 16 clubs by canceling relegation for one season.
The winner of the league title qualifies for the AFC Champions League with the second- and third-place finishers in the league, in addition to the King’s Cup champion, and if the King’s Cup champion is one of the top three in the league, the fourth-place finisher with the three qualifies for the AFC Champions League tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation. .
Numbers and statistics
Record of Saudi League champions by season since 1974
Seven clubs were able to achieve at least one championship in the league, which was launched in 1974. The following list reviews the Saudi League champions since its launch.
1974–75: Al Nasr (classification tourament)
1975–76: Not completed due to the death of King Faisal
1976–77: Al Hilal (1) *First official league championship
1977–78: Al-Ahly (1)
1978–79: Al Hilal (2)
1979–80: Al-Nassr (2)
1980–81: Al-Nassr (3)
1981–82: Al-Ittihad (1)
1982–83: The Agreement (1
1983–84: Al-Ahly (2)
1984–85: Al Hilal (3)
1985–86: Al Hilal (4)
1986–87: Al-Ittifaq (2)
1987–88: Al Hilal (5)
1988–89: Al-Nassr (4)
1989–90: Al Hilal (6)
1990–91: Youth (1)
1991–92: Youth (2)
1992–93: Youth (3)
1993–94: Al-Nassr (5)
1994–95: Al-Nassr (6)
1995–96: Al Hilal (7
1996–97: Al-Ittihad (2)
1997–98: Al Hilal (8)
1998–99: Al-Ittihad (3)
1999–00: Al-Ittihad (4)
2000–01: Al-Ittihad (5)
2001–02: Al Hilal (9)
2002–03: Al-Ittihad (6)
2003–04: Youth (4)
2004–05: Al Hilal (10)
2005–06: Youth (5)
2006–07: Al-Ittihad (7
2007–08: Al Hilal (11)
2008–09: Al-Ittihad (8)