Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH — After more than a century of football in the Kingdom, Saudi Arabia finally has its official, comprehensive, and uncontested football record.
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation announced on Sunday the completion of a landmark project that has documented 123 years of the game’s history, stretching from the Kingdom’s first kick-off in the early 1900s to the current era in which Saudi clubs dominate the global stage.
The project, the first of its kind in scope and precision, moves beyond mere documentation. It is now the official national reference for the history of Saudi football detailing competitions, trophies, organizational changes, and even definitions for terms such as “champion” and “tournament classification.”
It draws from decades of records, reviewed and standardized between March 2024 and April 2025, and represents the clearest answer yet to debates that have divided fans and clubs for generations.
At the heart of the project sits the Saudi League, which has run for nearly seven decades under various names and formats. Since its inception in 1957, 68 editions have been played, though four were either unfinished or not officially recognized.
Of the completed seasons, Al Hilal reign supreme with 21 league titles, more than any other Saudi club.
Al Ittihad follow with 14, most recently in 2025, while Al Nassr stand third with 10.
Al Ahli rank fourth with nine championships, including some of the league’s earliest triumphs, and Al Shabab complete the traditional “Big Five” with six.
Ettifaq, with two titles, and Al Wahda and Al Fateh, with one each, round out the list of league winners.
The official record also confirms the tournament’s varied naming history, from the “First Division” to the “Crown Prince League” and eventually the Saudi Pro League, yet under one umbrella, Al Hilal’s dominance is clear.
Launched in 1966, the King’s Cup remains the Kingdom’s most prestigious knockout competition.
Over nearly 60 years and 38 editions, the tournament has produced high drama and occasional shocks.
Here too, Al Hilal sit on top with nine victories, while Al Ahli, long dubbed the “King’s Cup specialists,” trail with eight.
Al Ittihad have lifted the trophy six times, Al Nassr five, and Al Shabab four.
Ettifaq boast two titles, while Al Wahda famously won the inaugural edition.
Recent years have seen new names etched onto the trophy, with Al Taawoun (2019), Al Faisaly (2021), and Al Fayha (2022) breaking through to claim historic triumphs. The 1975 edition remains the only one never completed.
From 1957 until its discontinuation in 2017, the Crown Prince Cup produced 37 thrilling editions of knockout football.
As with the league and the King’s Cup, Al Hilal again dominate the roll of honor, with 13 triumphs.
Al Ittihad collected eight, Al Ahli six, and both Al Shabab and Al Nassr three apiece.
A handful of other clubs, including Al Wahda, Al Riyadh, Al Ettifaq, and Al Qadsiah, lifted the cup once, adding to the competition’s rich legacy before its eventual closure.
The Saudi Super Cup, first introduced in 2013, has been contested 13 times with 12 editions completed and one canceled. Here too, Al Hilal lead the way with five victories, underscoring their dominance across all formats.
Al Nassr and Al Ahli follow with two each, while Al Ittihad, Al Shabab, and Al Fateh have each claimed the trophy once.
The record also acknowledges the one-off King Abdulaziz Cup (the Founder’s Cup) in 2000, won fittingly by Hilal to mark the centenary of the Kingdom’s foundation.
The documentation was not simply about numbers. The federation outlined an eight-step methodology, including collecting records from official and local sources, reviewing and verifying data across historical periods, analyzing and categorizing competitions, including unfinished or unofficial tournaments, and benchmarking the process against international football documentation standards.
The project also examined the evolution of football governance in the Kingdom, from the Ministry of Interior’s early oversight to today’s fully professionalized Saudi Arabian Football Federation.
In total, the project catalogues more than 3,400 domestic competitions, 251 national team tournaments, 1,141 international matches, and 3,300 referee appointments, alongside more than 300 regulations and bylaws that shaped the sport.
It is supported by a coalition of Saudi institutions, including the Ministry of Sport, Saudi Broadcasting Authority, King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives, the Saudi Pro League, and even FIFA.
While the project places all clubs within a unified historical frame, it inevitably highlights one dominant thread: Al Hilal’s unmatched supremacy across Saudi football.
With the most league titles, the most King’s Cups, the most Crown Prince Cups, and the most Super Cups, the Riyadh club stands as the Kingdom’s most decorated team.
Yet, the record also reflects the diversity of Saudi football history, from Al Nassr’s golden eras in the 1970s and 1990s, to Al Ittihad’s continental triumphs, to the rise of surprise winners who punctuated the story with unforgettable shocks.
For the first time, Saudi Arabia’s football narrative is told in a single, authoritative voice.
With Vision 2030 placing sport — and football in particular — at the heart of the Kingdom’s future, this 123-year documentation serves not only as a record of the past, but as the foundation upon which the next century of Saudi football will be built.
