Saudi Pro League

The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the top-tier professional association football league in Saudi Arabia. It is the highest level of the Saudi football league system and is governed by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation.

History

Early history (1957–2022)

The origins of the Saudi top division date back to the establishment of the His Majesty's League in 1957, which continued until 1974. It was followed by the 1974–75 Saudi Categorization League, a transitional season before the introduction of the Saudi Premier League. The first official season of the Saudi Premier League was the 1976–77 season.

The league used a round-robin tournament format from its first season until the 1989–90 season. Following changes by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, the league was merged with the King's Cup and the Golden Box format was introduced. The format included a final knockout stage involving the top four teams from the regular season to decide the champion.

The round-robin format returned in the 2007–08 season. The competition was renamed the Saudi Pro League in 2008, while records from previous league formats continued to be maintained separately.

The league has used several names throughout its history. For the 2018–19 and 2019–20 seasons, it was named the Prince Mohammad bin Salman League in honour of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

In 2019, the General Sports Authority (later transformed into the Ministry of Sport) launched the Sports Clubs Support Strategy to improve governance, infrastructure, and fan engagement within Saudi clubs.

In 2022, Roshn, owned by the Public Investment Fund, signed a title sponsorship agreement with the league. The competition was renamed the Roshn Saudi League from the 2022–23 season.

Saudi Pro League expansion (2023–present)

In June 2023, the Public Investment Fund acquired 75% stakes in Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, and Al-Ahli as part of wider development plans linked to Saudi Vision 2030.

The league attracted global attention in 2023 after Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr. Other international players, including Neymar, Karim Benzema, Sadio Mané, and N'Golo Kanté, later joined Saudi clubs during the same period.

The privatization process continued with several clubs changing ownership. In 2025, Al-Kholood became the first Saudi football club to be fully owned by foreign investors after being sold to The Harburg Group, led by American businessman Ben Harburg.

The league's development has received international attention and criticism. Some observers have described the investments as sportswashing, while Saudi officials have presented the reforms as part of sports development and economic diversification plans.

Sponsorship

Competition format

Competition

As of the 2025–26 Saudi Pro League

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.

Promotion and relegation

A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Saudi Pro League and Saudi 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, a play-off system to 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.

Current clubs

Stadium

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.

Personnel and kits

Champions

List of champions

Sources:

League championship records

Titles by club

Titles by city

Titles by competition era

Saudi clubs in Asia

Saudi Arabian clubs have won 17 continental titles in AFC competitions. The table below lists their achievements.

Top scorers

All-time top scorers

As of the 2025–26 Saudi Pro League

• Bold indicates a player still active in the Pro League.
• Note: This count includes only seasons from the inception of the Saudi Categorization League to the present day.

Top scorers by season

• Record

Awards

At the end of each season, individual awards are presented to players and managers in recognition of their performances.

Broadcasters

See also

• King's Cup
• Saudi Super Cup
• Crown Prince Cup
• Saudi Founder's Cup
• Sport in Saudi Arabia
• Football in Saudi Arabia
• Prince Faisal bin Fahd Cup
• Saudi Women's Premier League
• Saudi Arabian Football Federation
• List of Saudi Pro League hat-tricks
• List of football clubs in Saudi Arabia
• List of football stadiums in Saudi Arabia

External links

• SAFF
• (in Arabic)
• at FIFA.com
• at RSSSF.com
• at Soccerway
• - A gallery with all official mascots created for the Saudi Pro League.
• at MaTips