Organising body | Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) |
---|---|
Founded | (1974Categorization League) (1976 Premier League) (2008 Pro League) |
Country | Saudi Arabia |
Confederation | AFC |
Number of teams | 18 (since 2023–24) |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Relegation to | FD League |
Domestic cup(s) | King's Cup Saudi Super Cup |
International cup(s) | AFC Champions League Elite AFC Champions League Two [a] Arab Club Champions Cup |
Current champions | Al-Hilal (19th title) (2023–24) |
Most championships | Al-Hilal (19 titles) |
Most appearances | Mohamed Al-Deayea (406) |
Top goalscorer | Majed Abdullah (189) |
TV partners | Shahid and SSC |
Sponsor(s) | Roshn |
Website | spl.com.sa |
Current: 2024–25 Saudi Pro League |
The Saudi Pro League (SPL),[b] known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL)[c] for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of association football in the Saudi league system.
The first season of competition was the 1976–77 season.[1] The league had been operating as a round-robin tournament from its inaugural season until the 1989–90 season, after that the Saudi Federation decided to merge the football League with the King's Cup in one tournament and the addition of the Golden Box. The Golden Box would be an end of season knockout competition played between the top four teams of the regular league season. These teams would play at a semi-final stage to crown the champions of Saudi Arabia. The league reverted to a round-robin system in the 2007–08 season.
The association is also regularly ranked with the highest coefficient in Asia due to the successful and consistent performances in the AFC Champions League Elite, Asian Super Cup & Asian Cup Winners' Cup by its clubs. Al-Hilal is the most successful team, holding 19 titles in its history and most recently winning the title in 2023–24. Al-Shabab, Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr are 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's Public Investment Fund took 75% stakes in four founding members (Al-Ahli, Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal, and Al-Nassr) in the same year as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 program.
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