2016–17 Saudi Pro League
The 2016–17 Saudi Professional League (also known as the Jameel League for sponsorship reasons) was the 41st season of Saudi Professional League, the top Saudi professional league for association football clubs, since its inception in 1976.
The season started on 11 August 2016 and concluded on 4 May 2017.
| Season | 2016–17 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Al-Hilal |
| Relegated | Al-Khaleej Al-Wehda |
| AFC Champions League | Al-Hilal Al-Ahli |
| Matches played | 182 |
| Goals scored | 549 (3.02 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Omar Al Somah (24 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Al-Hilal 6–0 Al-Wehda (8 December 2016) |
| Biggest away win | Al-Khaleej 1–6 Al-Hilal (20 October 2016) |
| Highest scoring | Al-Faisaly 3–6 Al-Ahli (1 December 2016) |
| Longest winning run | 7 games Al-Ahli |
| Longest unbeaten run | 19 games Al-Hilal |
| Longest winless run | 11 games Al-Ettifaq |
| Longest losing run | 6 games Al-Wehda |
| Highest attendance | 59,174 Al-Hilal 5–1 Al-Nassr (4 May 2017) |
| Lowest attendance | 63 Al-Qadisiyah 1–1 Al-Batin (18 February 2017) |
| Average attendance | 6,980 |
← 2015–16 2017–18 → All statistics correct as of 4 May 2017. | |
Al-Hilal won their fourteenth league title, and first since the 2010–11 season, with two matches to spare following a 2–1 win over Al-Shabab on 20 April. The defending champions were Al-Ahli who finished as runners-up.
Al-Ettifaq and Al-Batin entered as the two promoted teams from the 2015–16 Saudi First Division.
Teams
The league comprises 14 teams, 11 from the 2015–16 campaign, as well as two teams promoted from the 2015–16 First Division and the relegation play-off winners.
On the final day of the season Al-Mojzel won the First Division title and their first-ever promotion to the top flight after a 3–2 win against Al-Jeel. Al-Ettifaq were also promoted after they finished in 2nd place, it will be their first participation in the Pro League since the 2013–14 season. The two promoted teams replaced Najran and Hajer. Al-Raed were relegation play-off winners.
On 3 August 2016, Al-Mojzel were stripped of their tile and were instead relegated to the Second Division due to a match fixing scandal. The SAFF decided to promote Al-Batin instead.
Stadiums and locations
| Team | Home city | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ahli | Jeddah | King Abdullah Sports City | 62,000 |
| Al-Batin | Hafar al-Batin | Al-Batin Club Stadium | 6,000 |
| Al-Ettifaq | Dammam | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium | 21,701 |
| Al-Faisaly | Harmah | King Salman Sport City Stadium (Al Majma'ah) | 5,200 |
| Al-Fateh | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium | 19,096 |
| Al-Hilal[A] | Riyadh | King Fahd International Stadium | 62,685 |
| Al-Ittihad | Jeddah | King Abdullah Sports City | 62,000 |
| Al-Khaleej | Saihat | Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium (Khobar) | 11,000 |
| Al-Nassr[A] | Riyadh | King Fahd International Stadium | 62,685 |
| Al-Qadisiyah | Khobar | Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium | 11,000 |
| Al-Raed | Buraidah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium | 23,600 |
| Al-Shabab[A] | Riyadh | King Fahd International Stadium | 62,685 |
| Al-Taawoun | Buraidah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium | 23,600 |
| Al-Wehda | Makkah | King Abdul Aziz Stadium | 33,195 |
- Notes
Personnel and kits
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ahli |  Christian Gross |  Taisir Al-Jassim | Puma | |
| Al-Batin | Khalid Al Koroni | Naif Eisa | skillano | |
| Al-Ettifaq |  Eelco Schattorie | Hassan Kadesh | Kappa | Al-Majdouie Hyundai |
| Al-Faisaly |  Giovanni Solinas | Omar Abdulaziz | Erreà | Aldrees |
| Al-Fateh |  Fathi Al-Jabal | Hamdan Al-Hamdan | Romai | Al-Majdouie Hyundai |
| Al-Hilal |  Ramón Díaz | Salman Al-Faraj | Nike | Mobily |
| Al-Ittihad |  José Sierra | Adnan Fallatah | Joma | |
| Al-Khaleej | Jalal Qaderi | Abdulla Al Salem | Joma | Al-Majdouie Hyundai |
| Al-Nassr |  Patrice Carteron | Hussein Abdulghani | Saudi Sporta | Mobily |
| Al-Qadisiyah | Bandar Basreh | Naif Hazazi | Lotto | Hokail Dental Clinic |
| Al-Raed | Nacif Beyaoui | Jufain Al-Bishi | Hattrick | |
| Al-Shabab | Sami Al-Jaber | Ahmed Otaif | Romai | |
| Al-Taawoun |  José Gomes |  Jehad Al-Hussain | Joma | Herfy |
| Al-Wehda |  Adel Abdel Rahman | Waleed Mahboob | Erreà |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Manner of departure | Pos. | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Faisaly |  Liviu Ciobotariu | 17 May 2016 | Sacked | Pre-season |  Hélio dos Anjos | 23 May 2016 |
| Al-Hilal |  Giorgos Donis | 18 May 2016 | Abdullatif Al-Hussaini (interim) | 18 May 2016 | ||
| Al-Fateh | Nacif Beyaoui | 29 May 2016 | End of contract | Ricardo Sá Pinto | 29 May 2016 | |
| Al-Taawoun | José Gomes | 29 May 2016 | Signed for Al-Ahli | Darije Kalezić | 2 June 2016 | |
| Al-Ahli | Christian Gross | 30 May 2016 | End of contract | José Gomes | 31 May 2016 | |
| Al-Khaleej | Jalal Qaderi | 30 May 2016 |  Patrick De Wilde | 9 June 2016 | ||
| Al-Nassr |  Raúl Caneda | 21 June 2016 | Sacked |  Zoran Mamić | 21 June 2016 | |
| Al-Hilal | Abdullatif Al-Hussaini | 12 June 2016 | Interim period ended |  Gustavo Matosas | 12 June 2016 | |
| Al-Raed |  Aleksandar Ilić | 16 June 2016 | End of contract | Nacif Beyaoui | 12 June 2016 | |
| Al-Shabab | Fathi Al-Jabal | 22 June 2016 | Resigned | Sami Al-Jaber | 22 June 2016 | |
| Al-Ittihad | Victor Pițurcă | 28 July 2016 | José Sierra | 28 July 2016 | ||
| Al-Khaleej | Patrick De Wilde | 30 August 2016 | Mutual consent | 12th | Jalal Qaderi | 30 August 2016 |
| Al-Hilal | Gustavo Matosas | 22 September 2016 | Sacked | 3rd | Ciprian Panait (interim) | 22 September 2016 |
| Al-Fateh | Ricardo Sá Pinto | 23 September 2016 | Mutual consent | 14th | Fathi Al-Jabal | 11 October 2016 |
| Al-Ahli | José Gomes | 30 September 2016 | Sacked | 5th | Christian Gross | 3 October 2016 |
| Al-Hilal | Ciprian Panait | 15 October 2016 | Interim period ended | 2nd | Ramón Díaz | 15 October 2016 |
| Al-Taawoun | Darije Kalezić | 16 October 2016 | Sacked | 11th | Constantin Gâlcă | 18 October 2016 |
| Al-Qadisiyah | Hamad Al-Dossari | 29 October 2016 | Resigned | 13th |  Riadh Belkhir (interim) | 29 October 2016 |
| Al-Ettifaq | Djamel Belkacem | 29 October 2016 | Sacked | 7th | Eelco Schattorie (interim) | 29 October 2016 |
| Al-Batin | Adel Abdelrahman | 6 November 2016 | Resigned | 9th | Khalid Al Koroni | 6 November 2016 |
| Al-Qadisiyah | Riadh Belkhir | 9 November 2016 | Interim period ended | 13th | Hélio dos Anjos | 9 November 2016 |
| Al-Faisaly | Hélio dos Anjos | 9 November 2016 | Signed for Al-Qadisiyah | 10th |  Fahd Elouarga (interim) | 9 November 2016 |
| Al-Ettifaq | Eelco Schattorie | 10 November 2016 | Interim period ended | 6th | Juan Garrido | 10 November 2016 |
| Al-Faisaly | Fahd Elouarga | 19 November 2016 | Interim period ended | 9th | Tomislav Ivković | 19 November 2016 |
| Al-Wehda | Kheïreddine Madoui | 9 December 2016 | Sacked | 11th | Badreldin Hamed (interim) | 9 December 2016 |
| Al-Wehda | Badreldin Hamed | 15 December 2016 | Interim period ended | 13th | Adel Abdelrahman | 15 December 2016 |
| Al-Nassr | Zoran Mamić | 28 January 2017 | Resigned | 4th | Patrice Carteron | 31 January 2017 |
| Al-Ettifaq | Juan Garrido | 18 February 2017 | Mutual consent | 8th | Eelco Schattorie | 18 February 2017 |
| Al-Faisaly | Tomislav Ivković | 19 February 2017 | Sacked | 11th | Giovanni Solinas | 20 February 2017 |
| Al-Taawoun | Constantin Gâlcă | 20 March 2017 | Resigned | 5th | José Gomes | 21 March 2017 |
| Al-Qadisiyah | Hélio dos Anjos | 22 April 2017 | Sacked | 12th | Bandar Basreh (interim) | 22 April 2017 |
Foreign players
The number of foreign players is limited to 4 per team, and should not be a goalkeeper.
Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Hilal (C) | 26 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 63 | 16 | +47 | 66 | Qualification to AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Al-Ahli | 26 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 57 | 30 | +27 | 55 | |
| 3 | Al-Nassr | 26 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 44 | 25 | +19 | 52 | |
| 4 | Al-Ittihad | 26 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 57 | 37 | +20 | 52 | |
| 5 | Al-Raed | 26 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 37 | 47 | −10 | 35 | |
| 6 | Al-Shabab | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 28 | 32 | −4 | 33 | |
| 7 | Al-Taawoun | 26 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 33 | 40 | −7 | 31 | |
| 8 | Al-Fateh | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 29 | |
| 9 | Al-Faisaly | 26 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 30 | 41 | −11 | 28 | |
| 10 | Al-Qadisiyah | 26 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 28 | |
| 11 | Al-Ettifaq | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 31 | 45 | −14 | 27 | |
| 12 | Al-Batin (O) | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 31 | 43 | −12 | 26 | Qualification to relegation play-off |
| 13 | Al-Khaleej (R) | 26 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 32 | 51 | −19 | 23 | Relegation to First Division |
| 14 | Al-Wehda (R) | 26 | 5 | 2 | 19 | 35 | 65 | −30 | 17 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Total goal difference; 5) Total goals scored; 6) Play-off (only for deciding champion, relegation and AFC competitions participation).
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Positions by round
The following table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve the chronological evolution, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. If a club from the Saudi Professional League wins the King Cup, they will qualify for the AFC Champions League, unless they have already qualified for it through their league position. In this case, an additional AFC Champions League group stage berth will be given to the 3rd placed team, and the AFC Champions League play-off round spot will be given to 4th.
| Leader | |
| 2018 AFC Champions League group stage | |
| 2018 AFC Champions League play-off round | |
| Qualified for relegation play-off | |
| Relegation to 2017–18 First Division |
Results
Season progress
Relegation play-offs
Al-Batin which finished 12th will face Najran, the 3rd-placed 2016–17 Saudi First Division side for a two-legged play-off. Al-Batin beat Najran 3–2 on aggregate.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Najran | 2–3 | Al-Batin | 0–1 | 2–2 |
First leg
Second leg
Statistics
Top scorers
| Top assists
|
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mansor Hamzi | Al-Faisaly | Al-Khaleej | 3–1 | 12 August 2016 | |
| Kahraba4 | Al-Ittihad | Al-Wehda | 5–3 | 18 September 2016 | |
| Mohamed Benyettou | Al-Shabab | Al-Ahli | 3–2 | 18 September 2016 | |
| Mukhtar Fallatah | Al-Wehda | Al-Batin | 5–1 | 29 October 2016 | |
| Omar Al Somah4 | Al-Ahli | Al-Khaleej | 4–1 | 29 October 2016 | |
| Jandson | Al-Khaleej | Al-Wehda | 4–2 | 14 April 2017 | |
| Omar Kharbin | Al-Hilal | Al-Nassr | 5–1 | 4 May 2017 |
4 Player scored four goals
Clean sheets
- As of 4 May 2017
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abdullah Al-Mayouf | Al-Hilal | 13 |
| 2 | Fahad Al-Shammari | Al-Taawoun | 7 |
| Waleed Abdullah | Al-Nassr | ||
| 4 | Mazyad Freeh | Al-Batin | 6 |
| 5 | Hussain Shae'an | Al-Nassr | 5 |
| 6 | Ahmed Al-Rehaili | Al-Ahli | 4 |
| Mustafa Malayekah | Al-Faisaly |
Discipline
Player
- Most yellow cards: 11
Yassin Barnawi (Al-Qadsiah)
- Most red cards: 2
- Hatim Belal (Al-Wehda)
Adama François Sene (Al-Khaleej)
Club
- Most yellow cards: 59
- Al-Raed
- Most red cards: 5
- Al-Khaleej
- Al-Wehda
Attendances
By round
| Round | Total | GP. | Avg. Per Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 42,303 | 7 | 6,043 |
| Round 2 | 33,135 | 7 | 4,734 |
| Round 3 | 20,361 | 7 | 2,909 |
| Round 4 | 66,445 | 7 | 9,492 |
| Round 5 | 45,460 | 7 | 6,494 |
| Round 6 | 61,352 | 7 | 8,765 |
| Round 7 | 48,886 | 7 | 6,984 |
| Round 8 | 50,102 | 7 | 7,157 |
| Round 9 | 36,805 | 7 | 5,258 |
| Round 10 | 67,399 | 7 | 9,628 |
| Round 11 | 51,322 | 7 | 7,332 |
| Round 12 | 37,001 | 7 | 5,286 |
| Round 13 | 59,460 | 7 | 8,494 |
| Round 14 | 59,107 | 7 | 8,444 |
| Round 15 | 37,047 | 7 | 5,292 |
| Round 16 | 88,613 | 7 | 12,659 |
| Round 17 | 75,441 | 7 | 10,777 |
| Round 18 | 25,890 | 7 | 3,699 |
| Round 19 | 51,509 | 7 | 7,358 |
| Round 20 | 82,696 | 7 | 11,814 |
| Round 21 | 32,435 | 7 | 4,634 |
| Round 22 | 28,931 | 7 | 4,133 |
| Round 23 | 27,060 | 7 | 3,866 |
| Round 24 | 38,754 | 7 | 5,536 |
| Round 25 | 30,719 | 7 | 4,388 |
| Round 26 | 72,199 | 7 | 10,314 |
| Total | 1,270,432 | 182 | 6,949 |
Source:
By team
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Ittihad | 330,291 | 53,661 | 6,686 | 25,407 | +11.8% |
| 2 | Al-Ahli | 268,951 | 51,659 | 2,241 | 20,689 | −25.4% |
| 3 | Al-Hilal | 200,037 | 59,174 | 3,921 | 15,387 | +29.6% |
| 4 | Al-Nassr | 99,258 | 27,181 | 1,422 | 7,635 | +20.7% |
| 5 | Al-Raed | 75,953 | 15,192 | 1,723 | 5,843 | +23.5% |
| 6 | Al-Taawoun | 65,329 | 11,966 | 2,404 | 5,025 | −10.4% |
| 7 | Al-Ettifaq | 48,976 | 14,640 | 506 | 3,767 | n/a † |
| 8 | Al-Fateh | 43,989 | 8,071 | 1,097 | 3,384 | +18.3% |
| 9 | Al-Shabab | 36,407 | 12,815 | 525 | 2,801 | −4.7% |
| 10 | Al-Batin | 33,921 | 5,222 | 473 | 2,609 | n/a † |
| 11 | Al-Qadisiyah | 22,341 | 5,820 | 63 | 1,719 | −36.2% |
| 12 | Al-Wehda | 20,284 | 5,006 | 276 | 1,560 | −46.6% |
| 13 | Al-Khaleej | 14,813 | 5,242 | 103 | 1,139 | −19.7% |
| 14 | Al-Faisaly | 9,882 | 2,506 | 204 | 760 | +58.0% |
| League total | 1,270,432 | 59,174 | 63 | 6,980 | +1.1% |
Updated to games played on 4 May 2017
Source:
Notes:
† Teams played previous season in First Division.
See also
References
This article uses material from the Wikipedia English article 2016–17 Saudi Pro League, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license ("CC BY-SA 3.0"); additional terms may apply (view authors). Content is available under CC BY-SA 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
®Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wiki Foundation, Inc. Wiki English (DUHOCTRUNGQUOC.VN) is an independent company and has no affiliation with Wiki Foundation.