Saudi Pro League

TheSaudi Pro League(SPL),known as theRoshnSaudi League(RSL)for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division ofassociation footballin theSaudi league system.
After the end of the1974–75 Saudi Categorization League, the first season of theSaudi Premier Leaguewas the1976–77 season.The league operated as around-robin tournamentfrom its inaugural season until the1989–90season. After that, the Saudi Federation decided to merge the football league with the King's Cup into one tournament, adding the Golden Box. The Golden Box was an end-of-season knockout competition played between the top four teams of the regular league season. These teams would compete in a semi-final stage to crown the champions of Saudi Arabia. The league reverted to a round-robin system in the2007–08season and was rebranded as theSaudi Pro Leaguein2008.
The association is also regularly ranked with the highest coefficient in Asia due to the successful and consistent performances in theAFC Champions League Elite,Asian Super Cup&Asian Cup Winners' Cupby its clubs.Al-Hilalis the most successful team, holding 19 titles in its history and most recently winning the title in2023–24.Al-Shabab,Al-IttihadandAl-Nassrare also some of the most successful teams in the league.
Beginning in 2023, the league started experiencing widespread international exposure due to attracting numerous top level players from European leagues through financially lucrative contracts, immediately becoming a star-studded league. The nation'sPublic Investment Fundtook 75% stakes in four founding members (Al-Ahli, Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal, and Al-Nassr) in the same year as part of theSaudi Vision 2030program.
Up until the late 1950s, football in Saudi Arabia was organized on a regional basis under the Saudi Regional Leagues, with theKing's Cupbeing the only nationwide tournament. In 1957, the first qualification process consolidated the regional tournaments of the Central, West, East, and North regions. Clubs competed in their regional leagues to qualify for the King's Cup, which was the final stage of the competition. The winner of the King's Cup was not the league winner.
In 1974, a one-time league was founded to end the regional leagues and decide which clubs would play in the upcoming  Premier  and first division leagues, the league was theCategorization League,1976–77season saw the start of the first-ever Premier League in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with eight teams, the following season the number of clubs increased to ten. The1981–82season saw the merger of both theSaudi Premier Leagueand theSaudi First Divisionfor that season exclusively to the concern of the1982 FIFA World Cup qualificationprocess. Twenty teams were divided into two groups, A and B. The top two in each group would enter a semi-final stage to determine the overall champions. In the following season which reverted to regular round-robin competition, the number of first-division clubs was later increased to 12 in the1984–85season.
In December 1990, theSaudi Arabian Football Federationdecided to merge the league with the King's Cup in one tournament, it was decided to revamp local competitions and 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 doubleround-robinleague competition with the top 4 qualifying for the final knockout stage, called the golden box. Clubs were allowed to sign players on a professional basis making the league semi-professional. This system lasted for seventeen seasons before reverting to a regular round-robin competition. The league became fullyprofessionalin 2007.
As of 2024, depending on the nation's coefficient, three teams from Saudi Arabia qualify for theAFC Champions League Eliteannually. This includes the top three positions of the league, the winner of theKing's Cupqualify for theAFC Champions League Two. If the winner of the King's Cup is also among the top three teams then the fourth-best team qualifies for theAFC Champions League Two.
The Saudi Pro League made international headlines in 2023 due to many players from other leagues, particularly those in Europe, transferring to clubs for the2023–24 season. A record-breaking transfer window took place ahead of the 2023–24 season; Saudi Pro League clubs spent close to $1 billion, acquiring 94 overseas players from Europe’s major leagues. These leagues include France’s Ligue 1, Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, Germany’s Bundesliga and the English Premier League, according toDeloitte.According to Spanish publicationMarcathe league has "shaken up the European transfer market".
The nation'sPublic Investment Fundtook 75% stakes in four founding members (Al-Ahli, Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal, and Al-Nassr) in June 2023 as part of theSaudi Vision 2030program.These actions have been criticised by many sporting journalists and human rights activists, who have described the transfers as part of asportswashingscheme by the Saudi government.
Cristiano Ronaldowas the first star signing to the league, with theBBCdeeming that he led this "revolution" in Asian football.Upon his move to Al-Hilal,Neymaralso credited Ronaldo for the immediate transformation of the league.Other players who joined the league includeBallon d'Or-holderKarim Benzema,N'Golo Kanté,Roberto Firmino,Sergej Milinković-Savić,Sadio Mané,Riyad MahrezandJordan Henderson.
From the2009–10 seasonuntil the2012–13 season, the league was sponsored byZain Groupand was known as "Zain league", From the2013–14 seasonuntil the2017–18 season,Abdul Latif Jameelwas the sponsor and the league was known as "Jameel league", from the2018–19 seasonuntil the2021–22 seasonmajor restructuring of Saudi football, under which the league's name reverted to the "Saudi Pro League", From the2022–23 season, for a five-year period, the sponsor of the league isRoshnand the league is known as "Roshn League".
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There are 18 clubs in the Saudi Pro League. During the course of a season (usually from August to May), each club plays every other club twice (a double round-robin system), once at their home stadium and once at their opponent’s, for a total of 34 games. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Teams are ranked on the league table based on points first, then head-to-head record in case of a tie, followed by goal difference.
Each club is allowed a maximum of 25 players, including up to 10 foreign players. Of these 10 foreign players, 8 can be of any age, and 2 must be under 20 years old at the time of signing. The remaining 15 players must be Saudi nationals, with a maximum of 5 players allowed to come from the youth sector if needed or wanted.
For each league game, managers can select up to 8 foreign players to be included in the matchday squad.
A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Saudi Pro League andSaudi First Division League. The three lowest-placed teams in the Saudi Pro League are relegated to the First Division, in the first division the top two teams are promoted to the Pro League directly, aplay-offsystemto determine the third team to be promoted alongside the two. Teams placed between third and sixth position take part in the promotion play-offs. The fifth-placed would face the fourth, while the sixth-placed team would face the third. The final would be single-legged, hosted by the higher-placed team.
League Format (1974–2007)
In 1974–75, the Saudi football league was known as the Categorization League. This league was introduced to replace the previously existing regional leagues and to determine which teams would play in the Premier League and which would compete in the First Division. The Categorization League had 16 teams, divided into two groups. Only two teams from each group advanced to a decisive final match to determine the champion.
From 1975–76, the league transitioned to a round-robin format during the regular season, where each team played home and away matches against all other teams. The league typically operated with 10 to 12 teams during this period, though the number of teams fluctuated slightly from season to season.
In 1981–82, the league underwent a significant change: it was merged with the First Division to create a single 20-team league for that season. This merger was driven by concerns over World Cup qualifying, as Saudi Arabia sought to strengthen its domestic competition and provide more opportunities for players to develop ahead of international fixtures. After this one-off expansion, the league returned to its usual structure with 10 to 12 teams.
In December 1990, the Saudi Football Federation decided to merge the Saudi Premier League with the King's Cup competition into a unified single tournament. This merger led to the introduction of the playoff system (locally known as the "Golden Box" or "Golden Four"), which would feature the top 4 teams of the regular league season competing in a knockout competition to determine the overall champion. The playoff system served as an end-of-season competition, adding an extra layer of excitement to the league.
In the 1991–92 season, the Saudi Premier League formally implemented the playoff system. The league still used the round-robin format during the regular season, but after that, the top 4 teams advanced to the playoffs, which were held to determine the champion. The playoff system meant that even if a team finished first in the regular season, they still had to win the knockout rounds (including semi-finals and final) to be crowned champion.
League Format (2007–Present)
In 2006–07, the playoff system was still in use, with the top 4 teams advancing to knockout rounds to decide the champion. Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal finished at the top of the table, but the playoff system decided the final winner. This was the last season the playoff system was used.
In 2007–08, the league switched to the traditional format, where the team finishing first in the regular season was crowned champion, and the playoffs were abolished. This system continued in the Saudi Pro League from 2008–09 onward. Al-Hilal won the title in 2007–08 after finishing tied with Al-Ittihad on 48 points. The title was decided by the head-to-head record, where Al-Hilal had the better result against Al-Ittihad.
In 2008–09, the league was rebranded as the Saudi Pro League(SPL). This rebranding formalized the shift to a traditional system where the top team in the regular season is crowned champion, and the playoffs were abolished. The rebranding also meant that the statistics and titles from the Saudi Premier League (1974–2007) were considered separate from those of the newly established Saudi Pro League. This mirrors the situation in theEnglish Premier League(established in 1992), where records and titles are kept separate from the formerFootball League First Division.
Following the rebranding, the league underwent significant changes. From 2010–11 to 2017–18, the league expanded to 14 teams, continuing with the round-robin format. Then, from 2018–19 to 2022–23, the league grew again to 16 teams. Finally, in the 2023–24 season, the Saudi Pro League expanded to 18 teams.
As of 2024, 39 clubs have participated in the Saudi football top division.
Only three clubs haven’t been relegated:Al-Nassr,Al-Hilal,Al-Ittihad.
Note: The tallies below include up to the 2024–25 season. Teams denoted in bold are current participants.
Boldfaceindicates a player still active in the Pro League.