Saudi Professional League

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Saudi Professional League
logoTemplate: Infobox football competition / maintenance / logo format
Association Saudi Arabian Football Federation
First edition 1975
Teams 14th
master al-Nasr (9th title)
Record champions al-Hilal (15 victories)
Current season 2018/19
Qualification for AFC Champions League
↓ Saudi First Division

The Saudi Arabian Football Championship ( Arabic دوري المحترفين السعودي, DMG Daurī al-muḥtarifīn as-saʿūdī ) is a professional football league in Saudi Arabia and has been played since 1975/76. It is also the highest league in the country. The main sponsor of the league is the Abdul Latif Jameel Group , which is why the league is officially known as the Abdul Latif Jameel League .

history

Until the league was founded, championships were mainly held on a regional basis. The only national competition until then was the King's Cup . Since both the structures of the clubs and the infrastructure of the country had improved by 1975, it was then decided to introduce a national league. The league started the first season with eight teams. In the end, al-Nasr was the country's first national champion.

In 1981 it was decided to integrate more clubs into the current league system. For this reason, a second league was introduced in order to enable both promotions and relegations. A so-called placement league was then played in 1981/82. 18 teams took part, of which the first eight had to qualify for the first division and the last eight for the new second division. From the 1984/85 season, twelve clubs played in the Saudi league for the first time. Until 1990, the game was played in a conventional league system, consisting of home and return matches. In 1991 a championship round was also introduced. The four best teams in the final table qualify for the play-off games. First, the third and fourth play off the opponent of the table runner-up in a game. The winner plays the championship final against the championship leader. In 2007, the association decided to abolish the championship round and return to the old championship system.

The 2008/09 season was able to decide al-Ittihad for themselves and in the end win the ninth title. Two game days before the end of the season, al-Hilal was only two points behind Ittihad. On the final day of the match, these two clubs met, with al-Ittihad holding the upper hand and sealing the championship. In the duel between the two newcomers, al-Raed and Abha, al-Raed had the better end for himself. It was only thanks to the better goal difference that al-Raed stayed in the league in the end. In the following year, al-Hilal secured the twelfth championship title. Since the number of teams was increased to 14, no team was relegated. The 2011/12 season was decided once again on the last day of the game: In the game between al-Ahli, who was second at the time, and the leading al-Shabab , a 1-1 draw was enough for the latter. In the last quarter of an hour it was rough: Al-Ahli was able to compensate for the lead by the opponent, but one red card was received during the 83rd and 93rd minute.

mode

The best three teams qualify for the AFC Champions League . The two bottom of the table are relegated from the Premier League and replaced by the two leading teams in the second division.

statistics

Record champions

Pl. society number Master years
1 al-Hilal 15th 1977, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2017, 2018
2 al-Nasr 9 1976, 1980, 1981, 1989, 1994, 1995, 2014, 2015, 2019
3 al-Ittihad 8th 1982, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2009
4th al-Shabab 6th 1991, 1992, 1993, 2004, 2006, 2012
5 al-Ahli 3 1978, 1984, 2016
6th al-Ettifaq 2 1983, 1987
7th al-Fateh 1 2013

Previous title holder

See also

Web links