Football is the most popular sport in Saudi Arabia. Football in Saudi Arabia is governed by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation (SAFF) ( ar, الاتحاد السعودي لكرة القدم). It was founded in 1956. It administers both the club competitions and the national football teams of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabia Football Federation founder is Prince Abdullah bin Faisal al Saud.

History

National football team

2018 FIFA World Cup Group A march URU-KSA - Anthems

The Saudi Arabia national football team ( ar, منتخب السعودية لكرة القدم), is nicknamed as Al-Saqour, which means The Falcons. They are one of the most successful football teams in Asia, winning the

Asian Championship An Asian Championship is a top level international sports competition between Asian athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships (Summer Olympic Sports) ;Aquatics * Asia ...

three times and qualified to the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

six times (

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, 2002, 2006,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

, and

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

Rivalries

Saudi Arabia has a major rivalry with Iran.

League

The

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...

is the highest level of competition in the country. In the 1970s, football was organized on a regional basis across Saudi Arabia. In the 1976 Saudi Professional League season, with the improvement of transportation links and local football, the league was launched on a national basis. Eight clubs participated in the first season of the tournament. In 1981, a decision was made by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation to increase the number of clubs to 18 clubs, 8 of which take part in the first league, with the other 10 competing in the second league. In the 1985 season, the number of clubs in the first league was increased to 12. In 1990, a league cup was introduced, known as The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques League Cup. It was a two-stage competition, a round-robin and knockout phase. The top four teams (known as the Golden Square) from the round-robin moved to the knock-out phase to compete for the final championship. In the 2007–08 season, The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Champions Cup was introduced for the more elite teams to compete for. Eight teams participate, including the top six teams of the first league, the winner of the Crown Prince Cup, and the Prince Faisal Cup.

Events hosted

* 1972 Arabian Gulf Cup *

1985 Arab Cup The 1985 Arab Cup was the fourth edition of the Arab Cup hosted by Ta'if, Saudi Arabia. The competition come back after nineteen years of absence. The defending champion Iraq won the title for the 3rd time. Qualified teams The 6 qualified tea ...

* 1986 AFC Youth Championship * 1988 Arabian Gulf Cup *

1989 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Saudi Arabia between 16 February and 3 March 1989. The 1989 championship was the 7th contested. The tournament took place across four cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Ta'if. Qualification ...

1992 AFC U-17 Championship The winners of the 1992 AFC U-16 Championship, organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and held once every two years for Asian under-16 teams that also serves as a qualification tournament for the FIFA U-17 World Cup The FIFA U-17 Wo ...

1992 FIFA Confederations Cup The 1992 King Fahd Cup ( ar, كأس الملك فهد), named after Fahd of Saudi Arabia, was the first association football tournament of the competition that would later be known as the FIFA Confederations Cup. It was hosted by Saudi Arabia in O ...

1995 FIFA Confederations Cup The 1995 King Fahd Cup ( ar, كأس الملك فهد) was the second and last tournament held under the King Fahd Cup name before the competition was retroactively sanctioned by FIFA and recognized as FIFA Confederations Cup. Disputed as the King ...

1997 FIFA Confederations Cup The 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup was the first Confederations Cup to be organised by FIFA. The tournament had previously been played in 1992 and 1995 as the King Fahd Cup. This edition of the tournament was hosted by Saudi Arabia, as with the pre ...

* 2002 Arabian Gulf Cup *

2005 Islamic Solidarity Games The 1st Islamic Solidarity Games held in the Islamic holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia from 8–20 April 2005 with an Olympic-style tournament aimed at showing Muslim sports prowess and featuring 6,000 athletes. Only men's events were included on ...

2008 AFC U-19 Championship The 2008 AFC U-19 Championship the 35th edition of this tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), was hosted by Saudi Arabia between 31 October and 14 November. The matches were played in Dammam and Khobar, both located at ...

* 2008 GCC U-23 Championship *

2011 Arab Cup U-17 The 2011 Arab Cup U-17 was the first edition of the Arab Cup U-17, an association football tournament between Arabic countries. It was played in July 2011 and hosted by Saudi Arabia. Participants * * * * * * * * Teams and Draw The teams ...

2012 Arab Cup The 2012 Arab Cup ( ar, كأس العرب 2012) was the ninth edition of the Arab Cup for national football teams affiliated with the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA). The tournament was hosted by Saudi Arabia between 22 June and 6 Jul ...

* 2014 Arabian Gulf Cup * 2018 Supercoppa Italiana *

2019 Supercoppa Italiana The 2019 Supercoppa Italiana (branded as the Coca-Cola Supercup for sponsorship reasons) was the 32nd edition of the Supercoppa Italiana, the Italian football super cup. It was played on 22 December 2019 by defending champions Juventus, the winner ...

2019–20 Supercopa de España The 2019-20 Supercopa de España was the 36th edition of the Supercopa de España, an annual football competition for clubs in the Spanish football league system that were successful in its major competitions in the preceding season. In Februar ...

* 2020 Arab Cup U-20 * 2021 AFC Champions League Final

National team

National ranking

, Saudi Arabia is placed 48th in the FIFA World Rankings.

Achievements

* 1970 Arabian Gulf Cup – Third place * 1972 Arabian Gulf Cup – Runner-up *

1973 AFC Youth Championship The 1973 AFC Youth Championship was held in Tehran, Iran. Venues Group stage Group A Group B Group C Group D Quarterfinals Semifinals Third place match Final References External linksResults by RSSSF

– Fourth place * 1974 Arabian Gulf Cup – Runner-up *

1976 Pan Arab Games The 5th Pan Arab Games were held in Damascus, Syria between October 6 and October 21, 1976. 2,174 athletes from 11 countries participated in events in 18 sports. Sports * Athletics * Basketball * Boxing * Road bicycle racing * Equestrian * ...

– Silver * 1979 Arabian Gulf Cup — Third place *

1982 Asian Games The 9th Asian Games ( hi, 1982 एशियाई खेल) were held from 19 November to 4 December 1982, in Delhi, India. 74 Asian and Asian Games records were broken at the event. This was also the first Asiad to be held under the aegis of t ...

– Bronze * 1984 Arabian Gulf Cup – Third place *

1984 AFC Asian Cup The 1984 AFC Asian Cup was the 8th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were hosted by Singapore between 1 Decemb ...

– Champion *

– Third place *

1985 Pan Arab Games The 6th Pan Arab Games were held in Rabat, Morocco between August 8 and August 16, 1985. 3442 athletes from 17 countries participated in events in 18 sports. Sports Medals won by country P Pan Arab Games Sport in Rabat Pan Arab Gam ...

– Fourth place *

1985 Afro-Asian Cup of Nations The 1985 Afro-Asian Cup of Nations was the second edition of the Afro-Asian Cup of Nations, it was contested by Cameroon, winners of the 1984 African Cup of Nations, and Saudi Arabia, winners of the 1984 AFC Asian Cup The 1984 AFC Asian Cup was ...

– Runner-up *

1985 AFC Youth Championship The 1985 AFC Youth Championship was held in March, 1985 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The tournament was won by for the first time by China PR in the final tournaments in round-robin format. Qualification Qualified teams * (West Asia z ...

– Runner-up *

1985 AFC U-16 Championship The 1985 AFC U-16 Championship was the inaugural edition of the AFC U-16 Championship organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), a tournament for Asian under-16 teams that also served as a qualification tournament for the 1985 FIFA U-16 ...

– Champion * 1986 Arabian Gulf Cup – Third place *

1986 Asian Games The 1986 Asian Games ( ko, 1986년 아시아 경기대회/1986년 아시안 게임, Cheon gubaek palsip-yuk nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Cheon gubaek palsip-yuk nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 10th Asian Games and the X Asiad ( ko, 제10� ...

– Silver * 1986 AFC Youth Championship – Champion *

1986 AFC U-16 Championship The 1986 AFC U-16 Championship was the 2nd edition of the AFC U-16 Championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It also served as a qualification tournament for the 1987 FIFA U-16 World Championship to be held at Canada. Sou ...

– Third place * 1988 Arabian Gulf Cup – Third place *

1988 AFC Asian Cup The 1988 AFC Asian Cup was the 9th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Qatar between 2 December and 18 Decembe ...

– Champion *

1988 AFC U-16 Championship The 1988 AFC U-16 Championship was the 3rd edition of the AFC U-16 Championship, organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was played by Asian under-16 teams and also served as a qualification tournament for the 1989 FIFA U-16 World ...

– Champion *

1989 FIFA U-16 World Championship The 1989 FIFA U-16 World Championship, the third edition of the tournament, was held in the Scottish cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Motherwell, Aberdeen, and Dundee between 10 June and 24 June 1989. Players born after 1 August 1972 could participa ...

– Champion * 1992 Arabian Gulf Cup – Third place * 1992 AFC Asian Cup – Runner-up *

– Runner-up *

1992 Arab Cup The 1992 Arab Cup is the sixth edition of the Arab Cup and also counted as the seventh edition of the 1992 Pan Arab Games football tournament, hosted by Syria, in 2 Provinces Aleppo and Damascus. Egypt won their first title of the Arab Cup and the ...

– Runner-up *

1992 AFC Youth Championship The 1992 AFC Youth Championship was held from September 25 to October 10, 1992, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The tournament was won by for the second time by Saudi Arabia in the final against Korea Republic national under-20 football team, Kore ...

– Champion *

– Third place * 1994 Arabian Gulf Cup – Champion * 1996 Arabian Gulf Cup – Third place *

1996 AFC Asian Cup The 1996 AFC Asian Cup was the 11th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in the United Arab Emirates be ...

– Champion *

1997 Afro-Asian Cup of Nations The 1997 Afro-Asian Cup of Nations was the seventh edition of the Afro-Asian Cup of Nations, it was contested between Saudi Arabia, winners of the 1996 Asian Cup, and South Africa, winners of the 1996 African Cup of Nations. The matches were origi ...

– Runner-up * 1998 Arabian Gulf Cup – Runner-up *

1998 Arab Cup The 1998 Arab Cup is the seventh edition of the Arab Cup hosted by Qatar, in Doha. Saudi Arabia won their first title. Qualifying The 12 qualified teams are: Venues Squads Overview Algeria, Egypt and Morocco did not send their senior nati ...

– Champion *

1998 AFC Youth Championship The 1998 AFC Youth Championship was held from October 17 to October 31, 1998, in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The tournament was won for the ninth time by South Korea in the final against Japan. Participants * Thailand (qualified as hosts) * China * I ...

– Third place * 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup – Fourth place *

2000 AFC Asian Cup The 2000 AFC Asian Cup was the 12th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Lebanon between 12 and 29 October 2000. Japan def ...

– Runner-up * 2002 Arabian Gulf Cup – Champion *

2002 Arab Cup The 2002 Arab Cup was the eighth edition of the Arab Cup football competition, hosted in the nation of Kuwait. Saudi Arabia, who were the defending champions from the last Arab Cup, again won the title for a 2nd time at the conclusion of the compe ...

– Champion *

2002 AFC Youth Championship The 2002 AFC Youth Championship was the 32nd edition of the AFC U-19 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-19 national teams of Asia. The tourn ...

– Third place * 2003‒04 Arabian Gulf Cup – Champion *

– Gold * 2007 Arabian Gulf Cup – Third place * 2007 AFC Asian Cup – Runner-up *

2007 Pan Arab Games The 11th Pan Arab Games took place in Cairo, Egypt from 11 – 26 November 2007. A total of 22 countries participated in 32 events. These games were the largest in the games' history; seven new events were introduced and 2000 more athletes partici ...

– Bronze * 2008 GCC U-23 Championship – Champion * 2009 Arabian Gulf Cup – Runner-up * 2010 Arabian Gulf Cup – Runner-up *

2010 AFC U-19 Championship The 2010 AFC U-19 Championship was the 36th edition of the tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation. Qualification for the tournament started in October 2009 with the finals tournament being hosted in October 2010. The AFC reco ...

– Fourth place * 2011 GCC U-23 Championship – Third place *

2011 Arab Cup U-20 The 2011 Arab Cup U-20 was the 1st edition of the Arab Cup U-20. It was hosted by Morocco. Ten teams from the region took part, divided into two groups of five teams. The group winners both advance to the final. Morocco won the competition by defe ...

– Runner-up *

– Champion *

2012 Arab Cup U-20 The 2012 Arab Cup U-20 is the second edition of the Arab Cup U-20. The tournament will be hosted by Jordan between July 4 and July 18, 2012. The draw for the tournament took place on April 11, 2012, in Amman, Jordan. Participants * * * ' * * * ...

– Runner-up *

– Fourth place *

2012 GCC U-23 Championship The 2012 GCC U-23 Championship was the fourth edition of the GCC U-23 Championship. It took place in Doha, Qatar for the third consecutive time. Six nations took part. The competition was held in Doha from 1 to 11 September. Saudi Arabia national u ...

– Champion * 2013 AFC U-22 Championship – Runner-up * 2013 GCC U-23 Championship – Runner-up *

2013 Islamic Solidarity Games The 3rd Islamic Solidarity Games was an international sporting event held in Palembang, Indonesia from 22 September to 1 October 2013. The 2009 event, originally scheduled to take place in Iran, and later re-scheduled for April 2010, was cancelle ...

– Fourth place * 2014 Arabian Gulf Cup – Runner-up *

2014 Arab Cup U-17 The 2014 Arab Cup U-17 was the third edition of the Arab Cup U-17, an association football tournament between Arabic countries. It was played from October to November 2014 and hosted by Qatar. Participants * * * * * * * '' withdrew from the ...

– Runner-up *

2015 GCC U-23 Championship The 2015 GCC U-23 Championship was the sixth edition of the GCC U-23 Championship. It took place in Bahrain for the second time. Six nations took part. The competition was held in Riffa from 16 to 29 January. Saudi Arabia won their third title afte ...

– Champion * 2015 GCC U-19 Championship – Fourth place * 2016 GCC U-23 Championship – Champion *

2016 AFC U-19 Championship The 2016 AFC U-19 Championship was the 39th edition of the AFC U-19 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-19 national teams of Asia. The tournam ...

– Runner-up * 2016 GCC U-19 Championship – Champion *

2018 AFC U-19 Championship The 2018 AFC U-19 Championship was the 40th edition of the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-19 national teams of Asia. It took place in Indonesia, which was ...

– Champion * 2019 Arabian Gulf Cup – Runner-up *

2020 AFC U-23 Championship The 2020 AFC U-23 Championship was the fourth edition of the AFC U-23 Championship, the biennial international age-restricted football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-23 national teams of Asi ...

– Runner-up * 2021 Arab Cup U-20 – Champion

Leagues of Saudi Arabia

There are four professional football league levels of Saudi Arabia: *

– 16 clubs * First Division – 20 clubs *

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

– 28 clubs * Third Division – 32 clubs The

was ranked 27th in 2015 by the International Federation of Football.

List of Saudi Pro League champions

Performance by club

Stadiums

King Fahd International Stadium The King Fahd Stadium (), also nicknamed "Pearl of Stadiums" ( ) or simply "the Pearl" ( ), is a multi-purpose stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is currently used mostly for football matches and it also has athletics facilities. Overview The ...

King Abdullah Sports City King Abdullah Sports City (Arabic: مدينة الملك عبدالله الرياضية), also nicknamed The Shining Jewel, in Arabic (al-Jawharaa Al-Moshe'ah) (Arabic: الجوهرة المشعة) or simply The Jewel, in Arabic (al-Jawhara) (A ...

Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium The Prince Mohammad bin Fahd Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. It was built in 1973 and it was used the name Prince Mohammad bin Fahd. It is used mostly for football matches and is the home of Al-Ettifaq. The stadium ...

King Abdul Aziz Stadium The King Abdulaziz Stadium ( ar, ستاد الملك عبدالعزيز) is a multi-purpose stadium in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is currently used mostly for football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, k ...

Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium ( ar, استاد الأمير عبدالله الفيصل) is a stadium in the port city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The stadium is located in the south east of Jeddah, between King Abdulaziz University and the in ...

* Marsool Park *

King Abdullah Sport City Stadium The King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, previously known as the Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Stadium, is a football stadium in Buraidah, Saudi Arabia. It is used mainly for football and hosts the home matches of Al Taawon and Al-Raed of the ...

Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz Stadium Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Medina, Saudi Arabia. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium for Al-Ansar, Ohod Club, and Al-Ula Al-'Ula ( ar, ٱلْعُلَا '), is a city ...

Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium (Arabic: ملعب الأمير فيصل بن فهد) (formerly the Malab Reayat Al Shabab Stadium, ملعب رعاية الشباب بالرياض) is a multi-purpose stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, designed by arch ...

Prince Abdul Aziz bin Musa'ed Stadium Prince Abdul Aziz bin Musa'ed Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or ev ...

Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium The Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Khobar, Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land a ...

Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Abha, Saudi Arabia. It is currently used mostly for football matches. It is the home stadium of Abha and Damac. The stadium has a capacity of 20,000 people. It is named afte ...

Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium is a football stadium in Al-Hasa, Saudi Arabia. It is used mainly for football and hosts the home matches of Al Fateh and Hajer Club of the Saudi Professional League. The stadium has a seating capacity S ...

Best Player of Asia award

League system

The Saudi Arabia football association football league system is organized in a pyramidal shape similar to football league systems in many other countries. The principle of promotion and relegation binds the leagues.

Women's football

Women's football is played in Saudi Arabia, but only in the affluent areas, as the country's very restrictive laws (especially those concerning women) inhibit the practice of the sport. In February 2020, Saudi Arabia launched a football league for women.

Saudi Arabia football privatization

In November 2016, the government of Saudi Arabia approved plans to turn state-owned sports clubs into private companies. This is part of the economic reforms to reduce Saudi reliance on oil exports and ease financial burdens on the government.

References

{{Portal, Saudi Arabia