SAUDI ARABIAN: FOOTBALL – The long history of The Beautiful Game in Saudi Arabia

Lack of historical resources means that there is some debate over which club is officially the oldest in the nation.

Football is such an integral part of culture in the Kingdom that the history of the game in the country dates back to the era before the formation of the modern Saudi state.

However, a lack of historical resources means that there is some debate over which club is officially the oldest in the nation.

Al-Wehda in Makkah is one that claims to be the first. Though the club acknowledges it was officially registered in its current form in 1946, its official website quotes historian Mohammed Ghazali as saying it was originally founded under the name Al-Hizb in 1916.

Jeddah side Al-Ittihad believes it is the Kingdom’s oldest club, however, with an official founding date of Dec. 26, 1927, almost five years before the unification in September 1932 that created the modern Saudi state.

Al Ittihad. Photo: Arab News Archive / Al-Ittihad believes it is the Kingdom’s oldest club. (Photo: Arab News Archive)

Given such uncertainty about the exact origins of the game in the country, in 2023 the Saudi Arabian Football Federation launched the Saudi Football History Documentation Project.

Saudi historians and international experts nominated by FIFA are working to research and record a definitive, agreed-upon history of football in the Kingdom.

The committee announced on Sept. 16 the completion of the first phase of the project, finding that the national team played a total of 92 matches and the clubs played more than 7,000 matches between 1902 and 1982.   

But much of Saudi Arabia’s footballing history is clear.

Al-Ahli club, for example, is another one of the Kingdom’s oldest clubs, having been founded in 1937. Other early organizations include Al-Ettifaq (1945), Al-Shabab (1947), Al-Riyadh (1953), Al-Nassr (1955), and Al-Hilal (1957).

The SAFF was established in 1956 as the governing body for the sport in the country. That same year, the Kingdom gained international football recognition when it joined FIFA, allowing local teams to participate in global competitions.

Al Ahli. Photo: Arab News Archive / Al-Ahli club is another one of the Kingdom’s oldest clubs, having been founded in 1937. (Photo: Arab News Archive)

In 1957, the Kingdom’s national team played its first competitive international match, a game against Lebanon in Beirut that ended in a 1-1 draw.

While there have been domestic national leagues in Saudi Arabia since the 1970s, the Saudi Pro League was not established in its current form until 2008.

In 1984, the Saudi national team won the AFC Asian Cup for the first time, with Majed Abdullah and Shaye Al-Nafisah claiming the goals in a 2-0 win over China in the final. The Kingdom retained the trophy four years later.

Saudi Arabia made their debut at the FIFA World Cup in 1994, which was held in the US, and reached the round of 16. Their success continued when they were once again crowned Asian Cup champions in 1996.

In more recent years, the Kingdom has continued to make strides in football, including the introduction of the first domestic women’s league in 2020, followed by the SAFF Women’s Cup in 2023.

Fuad Anwar is a former member of the Saudi national team who began his career in 1991 with Al-Shabab. He is perhaps best remembered for his performances during the 1994 World Cup, in which he scored two goals that helped the Saudis qualify for the knock-out stage. He also participated at the 2000 FIFA Club World Cup with Al-Nassr.

He told Arab News that three football clubs in particular shaped the football scene in the Kingdom.

Al Ittihad. Photo: Arab News Archive / Al-Ittihad believes it is the Kingdom’s oldest club. (Photo: Arab News Archive)

“There was a cultural shift in sports because of Al-Ahli, Al-Ittihad and Al-Wehda,” Anwar said. “The world became more accepting of Saudi Arabia and the region to be a part of the football scene … football culture became relevant in every part of the country, from Riyadh and beyond.”

Anwar highlighted in particular the efforts of Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal, and Prince Faisal bin Fahad to create a successful foundation for sports culture in the Kingdom.

Prince Khaled Al-Faisal played an instrumental role in the development of football in the region, having come up with the idea of launching a tournament for the Arabian Gulf in the late 1960s. Prince Abdullah, meanwhile, served as co-founder and chairperson of Al-Ahli, and Prince Faisal held a number of positions with domestic and regional sporting organizations.

Ahmed Eid Al-Harbi, a former Al-Ahli player who now chairs the SAFF’s board of directors, highlighted Prince Abdullah’s significant role in the development of Saudi football and sport in general.

He told Arab News the prince devoted much of his time to the development of youth to benefit the future of sport not only in the Kingdom but in the wider Gulf and Arab world, and on the continental and international stages.

“He didn’t merely adopt the club (Al-Ahli) for the sake of exercising a sport or achieving trophies, he spoke of the club as a university established to nurture and spotlight sports talents, giving them the attention and care they deserve,” said Anwar.

Nader Al-Sahleh, 61, a Saudi from the Eastern Province, told Arab News that he has witnessed the evolution of football in the Kingdom through the years, all the way back to the 1970s when, as a child, he played the game with neighbors and schoolmates in parks and fields.

“Those were beautiful, irreplaceable days filled with challenges, such as participating in neighborhood football leagues and Ramadan tournaments,” he said.

“These experiences impacted my life, introduced me to friends I still cherish today and created wonderful memories that I wish could return.”

Football in the Kingdom has evolve tremendously over the years, Al-Sahleh said, and “as a result, Saudi teams now compete to win, as seen in our victories in the Asian Cup and our dominance in Asian football.”

He added: “Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has stated his ambition to make the Saudi League one of the top 10 leagues in the world, which is a testament to the development of Saudi football.

“Currently, Saudi Arabia is constructing massive stadiums to host the Asian Cup and even the FIFA World Cup. This is just a brief overview of the progress of Saudi football, and we are grateful to our government, led by the (king) and the crown prince, for their continued support. May our sports continue to advance and prosper.”

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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Saudi historians and international experts nominated by FIFA are working to research and record a definitive, agreed-upon history of football in the Kingdom. Photo: Arab News Archive

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SAUDI ARABIA: How the ‘Saudi Pro League’ became the Football World’s Biggest Story

  • Saudi football, not to mention Middle Eastern and Asian teams in general, will be seismic in the years ahead
  • Global interest in the league has skyrocketed, with broadcasters DAZN, Canal Goat and LA7 jumping on board

 Cristiano Ronaldo raised a few eyebrows when, only months into his move to Al-Nassr, he predicted the Saudi Pro League would be one of the top five in the world within a few years. Recent developments have shown his remarks to be right on the mark.

“(The) Saudi league is getting better and the next year will be even better,” he told Saudi sports channel SSC toward the end of last season.

“Step-by-step, I think this league will be among the top five leagues in the world but they need time, players and infrastructure. But I believe that this country has amazing potential, they have amazing people and the league will be great, in my opinion.”

It is a view he has since repeated with confidence and, each time he does so, his belief looks more and more justified and accurate.

On July 18, while in Spain with his Al-Nassr teammates for their preseason training camp, Ronaldo doubled down on his comments. He committed to his Saudi adventure and dismissed many European leagues — and America’s Major League Soccer, the new home of his rival, Lionel Messi — in one fell swoop.

“Europe has lost a lot of quality,” he said. “The only one that is one of the best is the (English) Premier League. It’s way ahead of all the other leagues from my point of view.

“The Spanish league lost its level, the Portuguese one is not a top one, the German has also lost a lot of quality. The USA? No, the Saudi championship is much better than the USA.”

Given the number of major recent signings of top international stars by Saudi Arabia’s leading clubs during the summer transfer window, Ronaldo’s estimate of a “few years” could well be accelerated.

Some of the big moves to the Kingdom from Europe are worth highlighting: Karim Benzema from Real Madrid to Al-Ittihad; Sadio Mane from Bayern Munich to Al-Nassr; Riyadh Mahrez from Manchester City to Al-Ahli; N’Golo Kante from Chelsea to Al-Ittihad; Reuben Neves from Wolves to Al-Hilal; Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio to Al-Hilal; and the trio of Fabinho, Roberto Firmino and Jordan Henderson from Liverpool to Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli and Al-Ettifaq respectively.

There are many more, as the number of players signing from abroad seemingly grows by the day.

What has taken place is nothing short of a revolution in Saudi football. It is comfortably the biggest story in the football world, following the unprecedented summer 2023 transfer window.

Of course, there were already many standout past and current foreign players in the Saudi Pro League over the past few years. The likes of Bafetimbi Gomis at Al-Hilal, Talisca at Al-Nassr and Abderrazak Hamdallah at Al-Ittihad, to name just a few, have all been hugely successful in the SPL, not to mention popular with the fans.

But Ronaldo’s arrival in Riyadh on Dec. 31, 2022, redefined the Saudi Pro League. Once dismissed as a mere rumor, his move to Al-Nassr — after being released by Manchester United — changed perceptions of Saudi domestic football overnight. Coming shortly after the Kingdom’s historic 2-1 win over Argentina at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, it showed that the Kingdom had to be taken seriously.

Suddenly, other players began to take notice, as did the fans and the international media. The knock-on effects since then have been astonishing. Saudi Arabia’s top clubs, having been privatized and backed financially by the country’s Public Investment Fund, can now afford to pick off players at the peak of their careers from some of the biggest, and richest, clubs in the world.

Global interest in the league, which is also known as the Roshn Saudi League, has already skyrocketed, with international broadcasters also jumping on board. They include live sports streaming service DAZN, which has the exclusive rights to show games in the UK, YouTube channel Canal Goat, which will screen matches in Brazil, and free-to-air channel LA7 in Italy, according sources.

DAZN is set to stream three matches each week, beginning with Friday’s season opener between newly promoted clubs Al-Ahli and Al-Hazm. Sky Sports had picked up the UK digital broadcast rights to the Saudi top flight halfway through last season, but DAZN was the first to commit to a whole season.

No doubt the effects of all these developments on the future of Saudi football, not to mention that of Middle Eastern and Asian football in general, will be seismic in the season and years ahead. But amid the excitement and euphoria, there are serious issues that need to be addressed.

While the wider picture is clearly positive, and is already ensuring the SPL is a league to be reckoned with, the future of football in the Kingdom will have to be managed carefully and strategically to ensure the overall health of the game is maintained for the benefit of the clubs, the national team and the nurturing of young Saudi talent.

The rate of signings in recent weeks has been relentless and has raised questions as to when the spending spree will end. Officially, the Saudi transfer window closes on Sept. 7, a week after the one in Europe. This has caused concern among clubs, particularly those in the English Premier League, who worry they might lose more players during that overlapping period with no opportunity to replace them.

Beyond this summer’s immediate deadline, however, things will remain somewhat open-ended in terms of outgoing and incoming players, although an obvious end point for some clubs would be when they fill their full quotas for foreign players.

Another area of debate surrounds how this strengthening of the elite clubs will affect some of the league’s smaller teams. This concern was recently addressed by authorities, who said targeted projects will be supported if and when they are implemented for clubs outside the big five.

Then there is the worry that the influx of foreign players will adversely affect the development and progress of young Saudi talent, along with the careers of established local players.

The SPL and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation have moved to allay those fears by formulating a strategy designed to drive competitiveness on and off the pitch. New regulations are being rolled out, designed to increase playing time for young Saudi players. They include a reduction in the age of eligibility from 18 to 16, and a requirement for squads to include 25 senior players and 10 under the age 21 beginning with the 2025-26 season.

It is a policy that Al-Ettifaq coach Steven Gerrard and new signing Jordan Henderson — two former Liverpool captains — have thrown their support behind by committing to help efforts to nurture the next generation of Saudi footballing talent.

“At Ettifaq we have a lot of promising young talent who have a bright future,” said Gerrard. “And I am really proud to be the coach of the team. Hopefully I can help support these players and help develop them into better players in the future.”

For now, there is no denting the sense of optimism and positivity sweeping through Saudi football. For fans of the SPL, old and new, the 2023-24 season’s big kick-off on Friday cannot come soon enough.

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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