- The Al Ahli Football Club is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Saudi Arabia
- Al-Ahli on top, signed some exceptional football stars including Roberto Firmino
- Let’s look at the club’s history, ownership, historic league standings, and Top players
The Saudi Pro League is one of the oldest and most prestigious football leagues in Saudi Arabia. It was established in 1976 and is also called the Saudi Professional League or Dawry Jameel. The Saudi Pro League is played by the teams under the round-robin format under which each of the teams plays two matches with all the other teams of the tournament.
One match is played on the home ground of the team, while the other is played on the home ground of the opponent’s team. Generally, around 14 teams participate in the tournament in every season and currently in the 2023-24 season around 18 teams are participating in the prestigious tournament.
Al Ahli To Al Riyadh: List of Teams In Saudi Pro League
The teams are awarded based on their results in the match via points. In case a team appears victorious then it receives 3 points. In case of a draw, 1 point each is shared by both the participating teams. And in case of a loss, the losing team receives no points. During the initial season of the league, i.e. the 1976-77 season Al-Hilal FC became the inaugural champions of the season.
After this tournament, there was no looking back and the tournament witnessed a tenfold rise in its annual viewership and better sponsorships. Some of the greatest clubs of the tournament comprise Al-Hilal FC, Al-Ahli Jeddah, Al-Ittihad Jeddah, and Al-Nassr. These teams have always shown their glorious performance in the history of this tournament and have established a legacy of this tournament at the global level.
Also Read: Al Ahli FC Players: The club’s goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders, forwards and coach
The 18 teams that are participating in the 2023-24 season of the Saudi Pro League are Al-Hilal FC, Al-Nassr, Ittihad Club, Al-Ahli, Al-Shabab, Al-Ettifaq, Al-Fateh, Al-Taawoun, Al-Tai, Khaleej, Al-Hazem, Al-Fayha, Damac FC, Al-Wehda, Abha, Al-Okhdood, Al-Raed and Al-Riyadh SC.
History of Al Ahli Club
The Al Ahli Football Club is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Saudi Arabia. The club holds the record of winning the league as well as the King’s Club twice i.e. 1978 and 2016. The home ground of the Al Ahli club has been King Abdullah Sports City. The team has been home to some of the greatest players including – Khalid Massad, Malek Mouath, Yasser Al-Mosailem etc. Further details related to history, ownership, historic league standings, Top players: Current and Past, and the Outlook for the future related to Al Ahli club have been provided below.
The club was founded during the year 1937. Its founding members mainly included Abdul Aouf Batterjee, Omar Shams, Hassan Shams, and Hassan Batterjee. The origination of the idea to establish the Club took place at Al-Falah School which is one of the oldest schools of Jeddah. The club is located at the prime location of the city of Jeddah, which is Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz Street.
The team had won each of the tournaments in which it had participated to date including the Saudi Arabian League, Saudi Cup, Saudi Crown Prince Cup, Saudi Super Cup, GCC Champions League, etc., with the only exception being the AFC Champions League, under which they had been the runner ups twice during 1985 and 2012.
Ownership Details
The current ownership stakes of the Al Ahli football club are divided between the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Al Ahli Non-Profit organization. On the one hand, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) holds around 75% stake in the football club, meanwhile, the Al Ahli Non-Profit organization holds the remaining 25% stake. The Club is owned by the Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF). This organization also holds the honor of acquiring the Newcastle United team which is a part of the prestigious tournament of the Premier League.
Al Ahli at Historic League Standings
The journey of Al Ahli club has been more like a rollercoaster ride, with regular ups and downs, including winning the cup during the 2015-16 season and getting relegated during the 2021-22 season. The major highlights of the previous year’s standings are as follows –
| Season | Ranking |
| 2022/23 | Not Qualified |
| 2021/22 | 15 |
| 2020/21 | 8 |
| 2019/20 | 3 |
| 2018/19 | 4 |
| 2017/18 | 2 |
| 2016/17 | 2 |
| 2015/16 | 1 |
| 2014/15 | 2 |
| 2013/14 | 3 |
Prior to these records, the team had been the champions of the Saudi Arabia Championship thrice after the tournament came into existence. The Al Ahli football club won the championship during the – 1977-78, 1983-84, and 2015-16 seasons.
TOP PLAYERS
Current – The Club in the current season of 2023-24 comprises a dynamic bench strength comprising of legendary players like- Roger Ibanez, Frank Kessié, Allan Saint-Maximin, Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino, Edouard Mendy etc.
Past – Among the legendary players of the past, the Club has been the home to some of the greatest players such as – Omar Al Soma, Yasser Al-Mosailem, Mustafa Al-Bassas, Taisir Al-Jassim, Victor Simões, Abdulrahim Jaizawi etc.
Outlook for the Future
With the signing of the experienced goalkeeper Eduard Mendy, the Al Ahli club has made its intention quite clear that the club is aiming to target the top guns of the tournament such as – Al Ittihad, Al Nassr, and Al Hilal. Along with this, the appointment of Roberto Firmino has provided extremely strong leadership to the team.
The recent trends of legendary European players signing deals with the teams of Arabian football clubs like Cristiano Ronaldo striking a deal with Al Nassr had started a new trend of international players participating in the Saudi Pro League to a larger extent. Apart from that, the training of the young guns of the club from the very beginning shall ensure the progress of the team in the long run and would also help them to recover from the trauma of relegation which they faced during the 2022-23 season.
Al-Ahli FC Major Highlights
| Founded | March 17, 1937 |
| Stadium | King Abdullah Sports City |
| Stadium Capacity | 62,242 seats |
| Top players(Current) | Roger Ibanez,Franck Kessié, Allan Saint Maximin, Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino, and Edouard Mendy |
| Legendary players (Past) | Omar Jehad Al Somah, Yasser Al-Mosailem, Mustafa Al-Bassas, Taisir Al-Jassim, Victor Simões, Abdulrahim Jaizawi etc. |
| Saudi Arabian Championships Won | 3 times (1977-78, 1983-84 and 2015-16) |
| Manager | Matthias Jaissle |
| Owner | Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Al Ahli Non-Profit organization. |
| Home Colours | Green and white |
| Coach | Matthias Jaissle |