# 2015–16 Saudi First Division

2015–16 Saudi First Division League was the 39th season of the Saudi First Division League since its establishment in 1976. The season started on 21 August 2015 and concluded on 23 April 2016.
On 23 April 2016, Al-Mujazzal won the league title and earned promotion to 2016–17 Pro League along with Al-Ettifaq, while Al-Batin qualified to the promotion play-offs. Al-Nahda, Al-Riyadh and Al-Diriyah were relegated to the 2016–17 Saudi Second Division.
On 21 July 2016, the SAFF announced the relegation of Al-Mujazzal to the Saudi Second Division due to match fixing. On 3 August 2016, they announced that Al-Ettifaq were crowned champions and Al-Batin would be promoted to the 2016–17 Professional League instead of Al-Mujazzal, and they also announced that Al-Mujazzal would be relegated instead of Al-Nahda.

## Teams

A total of 16 teams are contesting the league, including 11 sides from the 2014–15 season, two relegated from the 2014–15 Saudi Pro League and three promoted from the 2014–15 Saudi Second Division. Al-Shoulla and Al-Orobah join as the two relegated sides. Damac were promoted as champions, while Al-Nojoom were promoted as Group B winners. Ohod secured the final berth by winning the playoffs.

## Team changes

The following teams have changed division since the 2014–15 season.

### To the First Division

Promoted from the Second Division
* Damac
* Al-Nojoom
* Ohod
Relegated from the Pro League
* Al-Shoulla
* Al-Orobah

### From the First Division

Relegated to the Second Division
* Al-Safa
* Abha
* Hetten
Promoted to the Pro League
* Al-Qadsiah
* Al-Wehda

## Stadia and locations

| Club | Location | Stadium |
| Al-Batin | Hafar al-Batin | Al-Batin Club Stadium |
| Al-Diriyah | Diriyah | Prince Turki bin Abdul Aziz Stadium |
| Al-Ettifaq | Dammam | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium |
| Al-Feiha | Al Majma'ah | Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz Sport City Stadium |
| Al-Hazm | Ar Rass | Al Hazm Club Stadium |
| Al-Jeel | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium |
| Al-Mojzel | Al Majma'ah | Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz Sport City Stadium |
| Al-Nahda | Dammam | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium |
| Al-Nojoom | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium |
| Al-Orobah | Sakakah | Al-Oruba Club Stadium |
| Al-Riyadh | Riyadh | Prince Turki bin Abdul Aziz Stadium |
| Al-Shoulla | Al Kharj | Al-Shoalah Club Stadium |
| Al-Tai | Ha'il | Prince Abdul Aziz bin Musa'ed Stadium |
| Al-Watani | Tabuk | King Khalid Sport City Stadium |
| Damac | Khamis Mushait | Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium |
| Ohod | Medina | Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz Stadium |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Al-Ettifaq (C, P) | 30 | 14 | 12 | 4 | 46 | 21 | +25 | 54 | Promotion to Professional League |
| 2 | Al-Batin (P) | 30 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 49 | 31 | +18 | 53 | Promotion to Professional League |
| 3 | Al-Orobah | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 49 | 32 | +17 | 51 | |
| 4 | Damac | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 36 | 34 | +2 | 45 | |
| 5 | Al-Jeel | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 43 | 41 | +2 | 44 | |
| 6 | Al-Shoulla | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 43 | |
| 7 | Al-Tai | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 42 | |
| 8 | Al-Feiha | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 33 | 41 | −8 | 37 | |
| 9 | Ohod | 30 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 29 | 33 | −4 | 37 | |
| 10 | Al-Watani | 30 | 7 | 15 | 8 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 36 | |
| 11 | Al-Nojoom | 30 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 34 | 37 | −3 | 35 | |
| 12 | Al-Hazm | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 32 | 42 | −10 | 33 | |
| 13 | Al-Nahda | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 32 | 45 | −13 | 33 | |
| 14 | Al-Riyadh (R) | 30 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 33 | 41 | −8 | 29 | Relegation to Second Division |
| 15 | Al-Diriyah (R) | 30 | 2 | 8 | 20 | 22 | 56 | −34 | 14 | Relegation to Second Division |
| 16 | Al-Mojzel (R) | 30 | 14 | 12 | 4 | 46 | 32 | +14 | 54 | Relegation to Second Division |
* 1 2 Al-Feiha ahead on head-to-head record; Ohod–Al-Feiha 2–2, Al-Feiha–Ohod 1–0.
* ↑ Al-Mojzel were originally the first-placed team, but were placed at the bottom of the league table due to match-fixing scandals on 21 July 2016.

## Results

| Home \ Away | BAT | DIR | ETT | FEI | HAZ | JEL | MOJ | NAH | NOJ | ORO | RIY | SHO | TAI | WAT | DAM | OHD |
| Al-Batin | | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Al-Diriyah | 0–4 | | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Al-Ettifaq | 1–1 | 3–1 | | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 |
| Al-Feiha | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| Al-Hazem | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Al-Jeel | 2–2 | 4–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| Al-Mojzel | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 4–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Al-Nahda | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 |
| Al-Nojoom | 0–0 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–4 |
| Al-Orobah | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| Al-Riyadh | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 2–3 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Al-Shoulla | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 1–0 | | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 |
| Al-Tai | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| Al-Watani | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Damac | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | | 1–1 |
| Ohod | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | |

## Statistics
### Scoring
#### Top scorers

    As of 23 April 2016
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Abdulfattah Adam | Al-Jeel | 20 |
| 2 | Abdel Fadel Suanon | Damac | 17 |
| 3 | Leo | Al-Mojzel | 15 |
| 4 | Mashari Al-Enezi | Al-Orobah | 13 |
| 5 | Mohammed Al-Menqash | Al-Mojzel | 12 |
| 6 | Sahow Metlaq | Al-Batin | 11 |
| 7 | Douglas | Al-Jeel | 10 |
| 7 | Mohammed Al-Hussainan | Al-Riyadh | 10 |
| 9 | Maher Sharoma | Al-Nojoom | 9 |

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Marei Al-Moqaadi | Al-Hazm | Al-Tai | 4–2 (A) | 28 August 2015 |
| Leo | Al-Mojzel | Al-Nojoom | 3–2 (H) | 17 October 2015 |
| Mohammed Al-Kuwaykibi | Al-Orobah | Al-Feiha | 4–1 (H) | 27 November 2015 |
| Mohammed Al-Khamis | Al-Feiha | Al-Nojoom | 3–1 (H) | 18 December 2015 |
| Abdulfattah Adam | Al-Jeel | Al-Batin | 3–2 (A) | 1 January 2016 |
| Peter Kolawole | Al-Watani | Al-Jeel | 4–2 (H) | 29 January 2016 |
| Abdulfattah Adam | Al-Jeel | Al-Tai | 5–1 (H) | 6 February 2016 |
| Abdel Fadel Suanon | Damac | Al-Diriyah | 3–0 (H) | 6 February 2016 |
| David da Silva | Al-Orobah | Al-Feiha | 4–2 (A) | 2 April 2016 |

### Clean sheets

    As of 23 April 2016
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Ahmed Al-Kassar | Al-Ettifaq | 11 |
| 2 | Mazyad Freeh | Al-Batin | 10 |
| 3 | Emad Al-Dossari | Al-Tai | 9 |
| 3 | Saeed Al-Harbi | Al-Shoulla | 9 |
| 3 | Nawaf Al-Otaibi | Al-Mojzel | 9 |
| 6 | Abdulmunem Al-Wabari | Al-Jeel | 8 |
| 7 | Abdoh Besisi | Ohod | 7 |
| 8 | Abdulrahman Dagriri | Damac | 6 |
| 8 | Osama Al-Hamdan | Al-Feiha/Al-Nahda | 6 |
| 8 | Sultan Al-Balawi | Al-Watani | 6 |