The 2012–13 Saudi Professional League (known as the Zain Professional League for sponsorship reasons) was the 37th season of the

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

, the top Saudi professional league for

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

clubs, since its establishment in

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

. The season began on 2 August 2012 and ended on 27 April 2013. Al-Shabab were the defending champions. The league was contested by the 12 teams from the 2011–12 season as well as Al-Shoulla and Al-Wehda, who joined as the promoted clubs from the 2011–12 First Division. They replace Al-Ansar and Al-Qadisiyah who were relegated to the 2012–13 First Division. On 14 April,

Al-Fateh ''Al-Fateh'' (, "The Conqueror") was an online children's magazine in Arabic. It began publication in September 2002, and its 108th issue was released in mid-September 2007. The magazine featured stories, poems, riddles, and puzzles. Criticism ...

won their first League title, with 2 games to spare, following a 1–0 home win over Al-Ahli. Al-Fateh became the seventh club to win the Pro League. This is considered by many to be one of the greatest shocks in Saudi football history, especially considering that Al-Fateh were promoted to the Pro League for the first time only four years earlier. Al-Wehda were the first team to be relegated following a 2–1 home defeat to Al-Faisaly on 29 March. Hajer became the second and final team to be relegated following a 2–1 defeat away to Al-Shabab on the final matchday.

Teams

Fourteen teams competed in the league – the twelve teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

. The promoted teams were Al-Shoulla (returning after an absence of eight seasons) and Al-Wehda (returning after a season's absence). They replaced Al-Qadisiyah (ending their three-year top-flight spell) and Al-Ansar (who were relegated after one season in the top flight).

Stadiums and locations

:Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.

Personnel and kits

* ¹ On the back of the strip. * ² On the right sleeve of the strip.

Managerial changes

Foreign players

The number of foreign players is restricted to four per team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries. Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window. *

Anas Sharbini Anas Sharbini (; born 21 February 1987) is a Croatian professional footballer, currently playing for NK Rječina Dražice. He played as an attacking midfielder or winger, and was best known for his dribbling and crossing skills. Club career Ri ...

has Jordanian citizenship and was counted as an Asian player. *

Ahmad Sharbini Ahmad Sharbini (; born 21 February 1984) is a Croatian football former professional player who is playing as a striker, and working as a sporting director for OŠK Omišalj. Club career Ahmad Sharbini began his professional career with HNK Ri ...

has Jordanian citizenship and was counted as an Asian player.

League table

Results

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

Hat-tricks

;Notes (H) – Home team
(A) – Away team

Clean sheets

Discipline

Player

* Most yellow cards: 8 **

Majed Ali Majid or majeed may refer to: * , ''majīd'' 'majestic', and , ''mājid'' 'magnificent', two names of God in Islam Given name * Majed (name), or variant spellings, including a list of people with the given name or family name Arts and entertainme ...

(Najran) ** Abdelatif Bahdari (Hajer) **

Lassana Fané Lassana Fané (born 11 November 1987) is a Malian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Born in Bamako, Mali, Fané began his career in the youth of Djoliba AC and was for the season 2006 promoted to the senior ...

(Al-Shoulla) * Most red cards: 1 **''22 players''

Club

* Most yellow cards: 60 ** Hajer * Most red cards: 4 ** Al-Nassr

Attendances

By team

† †

Awards

On 7 February 2014, it was announced that both Al-Riyadiya Awards and Arriyadiyah Awards for Sports Excellence would be merged and known as the Arriyadiyah Awards for Sports Excellence. The Arriyadiyah Awards for Sports Excellence were awarded for the seventh time since its inception in 2007. The awards were sponsored by Saudi newspaper Arriyadiyah and Saudi

sports network Sports channels are television speciality channels (usually available exclusively through cable television, cable and Terrestrial television, terrestrial and satellite television, satellite) Broadcasting of sports events, broadcast sporting eve ...

Al-Riyadiya. The awards were presented on 16 February 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2012-13 Saudi Professional League Saudi Pro League seasons

Professional League