Al-Ula Football Club is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

al-Ula al-Ula (), officially AlUla, is an ancient Arabian oasis city and governorate located in Medina Province, Saudi Arabia, northwest of the city of Medina. Situated in the Hejaz, a region that features prominently in the history of Islam as well ...

, Saudi Arabia. The club competes in the

Saudi Second Division League The Saudi Second Division League, also known as the Second Division League (SDL), is a football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), ...

, the third tier of the Saudi football league system.

History

The roots of the foundation of Al-Ula FC go back to 1978 when a friendly match was held between two amateur sides in the city. The match was attended by the governor of Medina Province at the time Prince

Abdul Muhsin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; , ) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word '' Abd'' (, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix '' al / el'' (, meaning "the"). It ...

. Following the match's success, the two teams' leaders agreed to merge both clubs into one that would represent the governorate. The club was officially registered with the General Presidency of Youth Welfare in 1981 under the name of Wadi Al-Qura. A few years later the club changed their to Al-Ula. Since its inception, the club has had eight presidents, with Mousa Abdulwahed being the first. Al-Ula had a relatively anonymous existence in the lower tiers of Saudi football until June 2023, when the club came under the control of the Royal Commission for Al-'Ula, a state commission under

Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (; born 31 August 1985), also known as MBS or MbS, is the ''de facto'' ruler of the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, formally serving as Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Sa ...

as part of the

Saudi Vision 2030 Saudi Vision 2030 (, sometimes called Project 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 pri ...

. As part of the takeover, the club made substantial investments in new players, including Brazilian

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Allan Sousa, who joined from Danish club AaB for an annual salary believed to be €2.5 million. This significant signing occurred despite the club's participation in the

Saudi Third Division The Saudi Third Division league (TDL), is a football league, the fourth tier of the Saudi Arabian football league system. History The Saudi FF created a new league called the Third Division League, consisting of 32 teams, and divided into four r ...

, which is the fourth tier of the Saudi football league system. Sousa was presented alongside Nigerian forward Christian Irobiso. Sousa and Irobiso became the first foreign players in the club's history. In addition to Sousa and Irobiso's signings, the club also made other high-profile signings including former Saudi international Hamad Al-Juhaim, Ghallab Al-Enezi, Fahad Al-Johani and Muhannad Awadh. All of whom joined from

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 ...

sides. During the January transfer window, Al-Ula made further additions to their squad including First Division top scorer Ousmane Barry, and Pro League winners Aqeel Baalghyth and

Housain Al-Mogahwi Housain Ali Al-Mogahwi (, born 24 March 1988) is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Saudi Third Division club Al-Ula. He is a former Saudi Arabia international. Club career He joined Al Fateh in 2010. Impress ...

. On 8 March 2024, Al-Ula secured promotion to the third tier, the

, for the first time in history after beating Al-Fao 3–1 in the final matchday of the group stages. On 23 March 2024, Al-Ula won the

for the first time after defeating Al-Anwar 8–7 on penalties (2–2 after extra time) in the final.

Honours

(tier 3) **Runners-up (1): 2024–25 * Saudi Third Division League (tier 4) **Winners (1): 2023–24

Current squad

Out on loan

Esports

Despite being a team in the Saudi Second Division, Al-Ula was able to sign

esports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...

teams for the

2024 Esports World Cup The 2024 Esports World Cup (EWC) was the first edition of the Esports World Cup, an annual international esports tournament series run by the Esports World Cup Foundation. It took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from July 3 to August 25, 2024 and w ...

, held in Saudi Arabia. They signed all-British '' Call of Duty: Warzone'' roster that finished 19th in their tournament and partnered with the reigning

PUBG Mobile ''PUBG Mobile'' is a free-to-play battle royale video game co-developed by LightSpeed Studios, LightSpeed & Quantum Studio and PUBG Studios. It is a mobile game adaptation of ''PUBG: Battlegrounds''. It was initially released for Android (opera ...

world champions in IHC Esports for the PUBG Mobile World Cup.

References

External links

Official website
{{Saudi League Ula Ula Ula Ula