Saudi Professional League


The Saudi Professional League, or Saudi Football League, is the top division of Association football league in Saudi Arabia. From 2013 to 2019 it was known as the Abdul Latif Jameel League, or Dawry Jameel, as it was sponsored by Abdul Latif Jameel for six years.
The first season of the competition was the Saudi Professional League held in 1976, Al Hilal is the most successful team, holding 15 titles in its history.

History

Up until the late fifties, football in Saudi Arabia was organized on a regional basis, with the only nationwide tournament being the King's Cup. In 1957, the first nation league including regional tournament of central, west, east and north regions, where clubs compete in their region league to qualify for the king's cup, which is the final stage of the competition. The winner of the king's cup is considered the league winner.
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.
The league became professional in 2007.
As of 2008, four teams from Saudi Arabia qualify for the AFC Champions League annually. This includes the top three teams of the league together with the winner of the Kings Cup. If the winner of the King Cup is also among the four top teams then the fourth best team qualifies to the extensions and if the winner of the King Cup is under the four top teams then the fourth team will not qualify and the third team will qualify for the extension.
Prize money:
For details on the 2019–20 Saudi Professional League season, see here.

TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
AbhaAbhaPrince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium
Al-AdalahAl-HasaPrince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium
Al-AhliJeddahKing Abdullah Sports City
Al-EttifaqDammamPrince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium
Al-FaisalyHarmahAl Majma'ah Sports City
Al-FatehAl-HasaPrince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium
Al-FayhaAl Majma'ahAl Majma'ah Sports City
Al-HazemAr RassAl-Hazem Club Stadium
Al-HilalRiyadhKing Saud University Stadium
Al-IttihadJeddahKing Abdullah Sports City
Al-NassrRiyadhKing Fahd International Stadium
Al-RaedBuraidahKing Abdullah Sport City Stadium
Al-ShababRiyadhKing Fahd International Stadium
Al-TaawounBuraidahKing Abdullah Sport City Stadium
Al-WehdaMeccaKing Abdul Aziz Stadium
DamacKhamis MushaitPrince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium

1: Al-Faisaly play their home games in Al Majma'ah.
2: Al-Nassr and Al-Shabab also use Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium as a home stadium.
3: Damac play their home games in Abha.

List of champions

Performance by club

Most successful clubs

Total titles won by city

CityNumber of titlesClubs
Riyadh
30
Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Shabab
Jeddah
12
Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli
Dammam
2
Al-Ettifaq
Al-Hasa
1
Al-Fateh

Top scorers

Most goals

Boldface indicates a player still active in the Pro League.
RankPlayerClubYearsGoalsAppsRatio
1 Majed AbdullahAl-Nassr1977–1997189194
2 Nasser Al-ShamraniAl-Wehda, Al-Shabab, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad2003–2019167301
3 Fahad Al-HamdanAl-Riyadh1985–2000120252
4 Omar Al SomahAl-Ahli2014–116124
5 Yasser Al-QahtaniAl-Qadsiah, Al-Hilal2000–2018112206
6 Mohammad Al-SahlawiAl-Qadsiah, Al-Nassr, Al-Shabab, Al-Taawoun2005–110244
7 Sami Al-JaberAl-Hilal1988–2007101268
8 Hamzah IdrisOhod, Al-Ittihad1992–200796N/A
9 Obeid Al-DosariAl-Wehda, Al-Ahli1996–200593N/A

Top scorers by season