Saudi Professional League
| File:Saudi Professional League Logo.png | |
| Country | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|
| Confederation | AFC |
| Founded | 1976 |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | First Division |
| Domestic cup(s) | King Cup Crown Prince Cup |
| International cup(s) | AFC Champions League GCC Champions League |
| Current champions | Al-Nassr (7th title) (2014–15) |
| Most championships | Al-Hilal (13 titles) |
| TV partners | MBC Sports |
| Website | http://www.spl.com.sa |
 2015–16 season |
|
The Saudi Professional League, officially known as (Arabic: دوري المحترفين السعودي), is the top division of Association football in Saudi Arabia.
The first season of the competition was held in 1976–77, in which it was won by Al-Hilal.[1] Also Al-Hilal are the most successful team with 13 titles, while Al-Nassr is the current title-holder (2014–15), which is the seventh title in total.[2]
The league is also known for sponsorship reasons as Abdul Latif Jameel League, named after the sponsor Abdul Latif Jameel Group.
Contents
History
Up until the late seventies, football in Saudi Arabia was organized on a regional basis, with the only nationwide tournament being the King's Cup. In 1976 it was deemed that local football, and transportation links, have improved sufficiently to organize a national league. Hence the Saudi League was launched with 16 clubs participating, and only 8 of them surviving in the next season. This decision was made in order to decide who relegates to the first division, and who rightfully stays on the premier league.
In 1981 it was decided to increase the number of clubs and add a second division. The league competition for the 1981–82, known as the ranking league, featured 18 clubs with the top eight qualifying for the first division and the bottom ten to the new second division. The number of first division clubs was later increased to 12 in the 1984–85 season.
In 1990 it was decided to revamp local competitions and to introduce professional football. A new league championship was formed called "The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques League Cup", which was a two-stage championship. The first stage was a regular double round-robin league competition with the top 4 qualifying to the final knockout stage, called the golden square. Clubs were allowed to sign players on a professional basis making the league semi professional.
In 2007 It was decided to split the two stages, with the league reverting to a standard double round-robin competition, and a new domestic competition cup competition formed called "The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques Champions Cup". This cup will feature the top six finishers in the league plus the winners of the Crown Prince Cup and the Prince Faisal Cup. This format will take effect from the 2007–08 season onwards.
Qualification and prize money
As of 2008 four teams from Saudi Arabia qualify for the AFC Asian Champions League annually. This includes the top three teams of the AJL together with the winner of the King cup. If the winner of the King Cup is also among the three top AJL teams then the fourth best AJL team also qualifies.
Prize money (2014–15 figures):
- First place: 8,229,713 Saudi Riyals
- Second place: 7,110,857 Saudi Riyals
- Third place: 5,992,000 Saudi Riyals
- Fourth place: 4,873,142 Saudi Riyals
- Fifth place: 4,754,285 Saudi Riyals
(Note, all clubs in the Saudi Professional League receive prize money depending on their rank.)
List of teams (2015–16 season)
| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ahli | Jeddah | King Abdullah Sports City Stadium | 62,241 |
| Al-Faisaly | Harmah | King Salman Sport City Stadium | 7,000 |
| Al-Fateh | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium | 27,550 |
| Al-Hilal | Riyadh | King Fahd Stadium | 62,685 |
| Al-Ittihad | Jeddah | King Abdullah Sports City Stadium | 62,241 |
| Al-Khaleej | Saihat | Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium | 20,100 |
| Al Nassr | Riyadh | King Fahd Stadium | 62,685 |
| Al-Qadisiya | Al Khubar | Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium | 20,100 |
| Al Raed | Buraydah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium | 25,000 |
| Al-Shabab | Riyadh | King Fahd Stadium | 62,685 |
| Al Taawon | Buraydah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium | 25,000 |
| Al-Wehda | Makkah | King Abdul Aziz Stadium | 38,000 |
| Hajer | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium | 27,550 |
| Najran | Najran | Al Akhdoud Club Stadium | 2,800 |
List of champions
|
|
Performance by club
Most successful clubs
| No. | Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Hilal |
|
|
1977, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011 |
| 2 | Al-Ittihad |
|
|
1982, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2009 |
| 3 | Al-Nassr |
|
|
1980, 1981, 1989, 1994, 1995, 2014, 2015 |
| 4 | Al-Shabab |
|
|
1991, 1992, 1993, 2004, 2006, 2012 |
| 5 | Al-Ahli |
|
|
1978, 1984 |
| 6 | Al-Ettifaq |
|
|
1983, 1987 |
| 7 | Al-Fateh |
|
|
2013 |
Total titles won by town or city
| Town or city | Number of titles | Clubs |
|---|---|---|
| Riyadh |
|
Al-Hilal (13), Al-Nassr (7), Al-Shabab (6) |
| Jeddah |
|
Al-Ittihad (8), Al-Ahli (2) |
| Dammam |
|
Al-Ettifaq (2) |
| Al-Hasa |
|
Al-Fateh (1) |
Topscorers
See also
References
- ↑ http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/clubs/club=44286/index.html
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Saudi Pro League Statistics
- Saudi Professional League Commission (Arabic)
- Abdul Latif jameel League (Arabic)
- Saudi Arabia Football Federation at FIFA.com
- Saudi Arabia - List of Champions at RSSSF.com
