Following Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr, an increasing number of players are packing their belongings and heading to the Saudi Pro League.
By bringing in big football stars, Saudi Arabia’s previously unknown football league wants to compete with European leagues such as La Liga, Premier League, and Bundesliga.
Benzema, N’Golo Kante, and Ruben Neves all take the risk and fly to the Middle East.
As a result, the Saudi Pro League’s popularity continues to increase, leaving many punters wondering where they can bet on Saudi league matches because non-GamStop sports betting sites and offshore bookmakers don’t cover the Saudi league extensively.
What is the Saudi Pro League?
The Saudi Pro League, sometimes known as the Saudi Professional League, is Saudi Arabia’s highest level of football. Although many people are only now becoming aware of the competition at non-GamStop bookies, it has existed since 1976.
Every team competed against each other from the first season to 1989/90. The Saudi Federation, on the other hand, chose to combine the football competition with the King’s Cup and add the Golden Box.
The King’s Cup is a knockout competition that was discontinued in 1990 and restored in 2007 as the King’s Cup of Champions. It is also known as the League Cup of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
Only the top six teams from the Saudi Pro League, as well as the winners of the Crown Prince’s Cup and the Federation Cup, competed for the cup. The tournament returned to its original format seven years later, in 2014.
A first-place finish netted a club 5,500,000 Saudi Riyals, or more than 1.3 million euros. The runners-up received about one million euros.
The Golden Box has also been included. This would also be a knockout competition involving the top four teams from the current Saudi Pro League at the end of the season. The teams would face off in the semifinals to determine Saudi Arabia’s champions.
The previous format, as we know it now, did, however, return in the 2007/08 season. Just as teams in the Premier League can win tickets to the Champions League, national champions and runners-up qualify for the AFC Champions League group stage.
The third-place team must compete in the preliminary rounds before advancing to the international football tournament for Asian and Australian clubs.
Teams of the Saudi Pro League
Previously, 16 teams competed for the national championship. On April 14, 2022, the organization stated that the number of clubs would be increased by two teams the following season (2023/24).
As a result, there are now 18 teams competing for the national championship. The modification aided the worst clubs in the overall standings by requiring only two teams to be relegated from the league rather than three.
The news also came at an advantageous time for clubs from the lower football division, as four teams might now be promoted from the Saudi First Division League to the top level of football.
Al-Ahli, Al-Okhdood, Al-Riyadh, and Al-Hazem, for example, pass through, while Al-Batin and Al-Adalah are demoted in the 2023/24 season. Al-Hilal is the club with the most national championships.
Where Can I Broadcast All Saudi Pro League Matches on TV and Online?
The rights to broadcast foreign football competitions in Europe are held by the two largest streaming providers, Viaplay and Ziggo Sport. Viaplay, for example, has been offering live streaming of the English Premier League, the German Bundesliga, and the female Serie A since last year.
Players Who Also Made the Switch to the Saudi Pro League
But it doesn’t stop there, because after Ronaldo, many other players decided to join the Saudi Pro League. For example, Karim Benzema, a former Real Madrid striker, packed his belongings this summer to join the Al-Ittihad club. The majority of people expected the pro to stay with Los Blancos for another year. N’Golo Kante also joined the same club as his teammate, Les Blues. He decided to leave Chelsea on a free transfer in July.
Ruben Neves chose Al-Hilal to continue his football career. The Portuguese midfielder’s contract with English club Wolverhampton ended in 2024, thus many prominent European clubs have already expressed interest in him. FC Barcelona, for example, was frequently linked to the professional, but the Saudi club abducted him. Kalidou Koulibaly has also joined the team. The footballer only spent a year with Chelsea, although it was not the best year of his career owing to injuries. For his transfer, the defender received a fee of 23 million euros.
