2017–18 Saudi Pro League
The 2017–18 Saudi Professional League (also known formerly as a Jameel League for sponsorship reasons), was the 42nd season of the Saudi Professional League, the top Saudi professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1976.
The season started on 10 August 2017 and concluded on 12 April 2018.
| Season | 2017–18 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Al-Hilal (15th title) |
| AFC Champions League | Al-Hilal Al-Ahli Al-Nassr |
| UAFA Club Championship | Al-Hilal Al-Ahli Al-Nassr Al-Ittihad |
| Matches played | 182 |
| Goals scored | 542 (2.98 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Ronnie Fernández (13 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Al-Ahli 5–0 Al-Batin (12 January 2018) |
| Biggest away win | Al-Raed 0–5 Al-Nassr (17 November 2017) Al-Fateh 0–5 Al-Faisaly (25 November 2017) |
| Highest scoring | Al-Ahli 5–3 Al-Raed (30 September 2017) |
| Longest winning run | 5 matches Al-Ahli |
| Longest unbeaten run | 11 matches Al-Hilal |
| Longest winless run | 9 matches Al-Batin |
| Longest losing run | 6 matches Ohod |
| Highest attendance | 45,913 Al-Ittihad 0–0 Al-Ahli (4 February 2018) |
| Lowest attendance | 275 Al-Faisaly 3–0 Al-Ettifaq (30 September 2017) |
| Average attendance | 5,726 |
← 2016–17 2018–19 → All statistics correct as of 4 May 2018. | |
Al-Hilal were the defending champions after winning the Pro League last season for the 14th time. Al-Fayha and Ohod have entered as the promoted teams from the 2016–17 Saudi First Division. Al-Hilal were crowned as league winners for the second season in a row on the 12 April, after defeating Al-Fateh 4–1 on the final day of the season. No teams were relegated at the end of the season following the decision to increase the number of teams from 14 to 16. In its place, relegation play-offs were held between the bottom 2 teams of the Pro League and the 3rd and 4th placed teams of the MS League. Both Pro League teams, Al-Raed and Ohod, won their respective matches and secured their top-flight status.
Al-Fayha's Ronnie Fernández won the Golden Boot with 13 goals. Al-Ittihad's Carlos Villanueva and Al-Faisaly's Vuk Rašović were named as Player and Manager of the Season respectively.
Teams
Fourteen teams will compete in the league – the top eleven teams from the previous season, the playoff winner and two teams promoted from the First Division.
Teams who were promoted to the Pro League
The first club to be promoted was Al-Fayha, following their 2–1 win at home to Ohod on 29 April 2017. Al-Fayha will play in the top flight of Saudi football for the first time in their history. They were crowned champions on 5 May 2017 after drawing Wej 1–1 away from home, coupled with Al-Tai's 0–0 draw against fellow promoted club Ohod.
The second and final club to be promoted was Ohod, following their 0–0 draw at home to Al-Tai on 5 May 2017. Ohod will play in the top flight of Saudi football for the first time since 2005.
Teams who were relegated to the First Division
The first club to be relegated was Al-Wehda, ending their 2-year stay in the Pro League after a 2–1 home defeat to Al-Fateh on 20 April 2017.
The second and final club to be relegated was Al-Khaleej, ending their 3-year stay in the Pro League following a 2–2 draw to Al-Faisaly on 4 May 2017.
Stadiums
- Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Team | Location | 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[1] | 5,200 |
| Al-Fateh | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium | 19,096 |
| Al-Fayha | Al Majma'ah | King Salman Sport City Stadium | 5,200 |
| Al-Hilal | Riyadh | King Fahd International Stadium[2] | 62,685 |
| Al-Ittihad | Jeddah | King Abdullah Sports City | 62,000 |
| Al-Nassr | Riyadh | King Fahd International Stadium [3] | 62,685 |
| Al-Qadsiah | Khobar | Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium | 11,000 |
| Al-Raed | Buraidah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium | 23,600 |
| Al-Shabab | Riyadh | King Fahd International Stadium [4] | 62,685 |
| Al-Taawoun | Buraidah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium | 23,600 |
| Ohod | Medina | Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz Stadium | 24,000 |
1: ^ Al-Faisaly play their home games in Al-Majma'ah.
2: ^ Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr and Al-Shabab also use Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium (22,500 seats) as a home stadium.
Personnel and kits
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ahli |  Serhii Rebrov |  Taisir Al-Jassim | Umbro | Saudia |
| Al-Batin |  Ciprian Panait | Naif Eisa | skillano | Al-Fowzan ProMan, Al Shallal Raya Hotel1, Al Maali Hospital2 |
| Al-Ettifaq | Saad Al-Shehri | Ahmed Al-Kassar | Kappa | Al-Majdouie Hyundai, Kanaf, Sahara Net1, Almana General Hospital1, Innosoft2, APSCO Mobil 12 |
| Al-Faisaly |  Vuk Rasovic | Omar Abdulaziz | Joma | ALDREES, Al Riyadh Travel & Tourism, Roco, Shmagh Albassam1, Hayat3, PhysioTrio3 |
| Al-Fateh |  Fathi Al-Jabal | Mohammed Al-Fuhaid | Romai | Al Kifah1, AlMoosa Hospital1 |
| Al-Fayha |  Gustavo Costas | Sami Al-Khaibari | Macron | Herfy, The Fourth Triangle, Shmagh Al-Bassam1, Kooz Karak1, Ghaya2, Enmaar2, PhysioTrio3 |
| Al-Hilal | Juan Brown | Salman Al-Faraj | Nike | Volkswagen, Abdul Samad Al Qurashi1, Sun & Sand Sports1, Jawwy from STC2, APSCO Mobil 12 |
| Al-Ittihad |  José Sierra | Adnan Fallatah | Joma | Bridgestone, Unionaire1, APSCO Mobil 12 |
| Al-Nassr |  Krunoslav Jurčić | Ibrahim Ghaleb | New Balance | |
| Al-Qadsiah | Bandar Basreh |  Élton José | Offside | GREE, Almana General Hospital, Al Asasyah1 |
| Al-Raed | Aleksandar Ilić | Yahya Al-Musalem | Hattrick | Hana, AlMosa Group, Al-Qassim National Hospital1 |
| Al-Shabab | Marius Șumudică | Nasser Al-Shamrani | Joma | |
| Al-Taawoun |  José Gomes |  Essam El-Hadary | skillano | Shmagh Al-Bassam1 |
| Ohod | Maher Kanzari | Abdoh Besisi | ProIcon | Mozn, Al Safeer Thobe1, FrawLaty3 |
- 1 On the back of the strip.
- 2 On the right sleeve of the strip.
- 3 On the shorts.
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ettifaq |  Eelco Schattorie | End of caretaker spell | 5 May 2017 | Pre-season | Miodrag Ješić | 14 June 2017 |
| Al-Faisaly |  Giovanni Solinas | End of contract | 5 May 2017 | Vuk Rašović | 29 May 2017 | |
| Al-Nassr |  Patrice Carteron | Sacked | 5 May 2017 | Ricardo Gomes | 14 June 2017 | |
| Al-Qadsiah | Bandar Basreh | End of caretaker spell | 5 May 2017 | Nacif Beyaoui | 16 June 2017 | |
| Al-Fayha |  Al Habeeb bin Ramadan | End of contract | 10 May 2017 | Constantin Gâlcă | 20 May 2017 | |
| Al-Raed | Nacif Beyaoui | Resigned | 14 May 2017 | Taoufik Rouabah | 4 June 2017 | |
| Al-Batin | Khalid Al-Koroni | End of contract | 17 May 2017 | Quim Machado | 24 May 2017 | |
| Al-Ahli |  Christian Gross | Mutual consent | 31 May 2017 | Serhii Rebrov | 21 June 2017 | |
| Al-Shabab | Sami Al-Jaber | Sacked | 16 September 2017 | 9th |  Mike Newell (interim) | 16 September 2017 |
| Al-Nassr | Ricardo Gomes | 22 September 2017 | 4th | Rogério Lourenço (interim) | 22 September 2017 | |
| Al-Shabab | Mike Newell | Interim period ended | 23 September 2017 | 6th |  José Daniel Carreño | 23 September 2017 |
| Al-Raed | Taoufik Rouabah | Sacked | 1 October 2017 | 14th | Ciprian Panait | 4 October 2017 |
| Al-Nassr | Rogério Lourenço | Interim period ended | 3 October 2017 | 5th |  Gustavo Quinteros | 3 October 2017 |
| Al-Fayha | Constantin Gâlcă | Sacked | 1 November 2017 | 12th | Gustavo Costas | 1 November 2017 |
| Al-Qadsiah | Nacif Beyaoui | Mutual consent | 2 November 2017 | 7th | Paulo Bonamigo | 2 November 2017 |
| Ohod | Abdulwahab Al-Harbi | Resigned | 5 November 2017 | 14th | Nabil Neghiz | 10 November 2017 |
| Al-Ettifaq | Miodrag Ješić | Sacked | 10 December 2017 | 13th | Saad Al-Shehri | 10 December 2017 |
| Al-Nassr | Gustavo Quinteros | 31 January 2018 | 4th | Krunoslav Jurčić | 31 January 2018 | |
| Al-Batin | Quim Machado | 4 February 2018 | 10th | Ciprian Panait | 6 February 2018 | |
| Al-Qadsiah | Paulo Bonamigo | 5 February 2018 | 12th | Bandar Basreh (interim) | 5 February 2018 | |
| Al-Raed | Ciprian Panait | 5 February 2018 | 14th | Aleksandar Ilić | 5 February 2018 | |
| Ohod | Nabil Neghiz | 18 February 2018 | 13th | Maher Kanzari | 23 February 2018 | |
| Al-Hilal | Ramón Díaz | 20 February 2018 | 1st | Juan Brown (interim) | 20 February 2018 | |
| Al-Shabab | José Daniel Carreño | Mutual consent | 8 March 2018 | 10th | Khalid Al-Koroni | 8 March 2018 |
| Ohod | Maher Kanzari | Sacked | 12 April 2018 | 14th |  Sadio Demba | 12 April 2018 |
| Al-Ahli | Serhii Rebrov | 19 April 2018 | 2nd | Fathi Al-Jabal (caretaker) | 19 April 2018 |
Foreign players
The number of foreign players was increased from 4 players to 6 players, and for the first time in the history of the Pro League foreign goalkeepers are allowed. On January 11, 2018, the Saudi FF increased the number of foreign players from 6 players to 7 players.
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 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 47 | 23 | +24 | 56 | Qualification to AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Al-Ahli | 26 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 59 | 26 | +33 | 55 | |
| 3 | Al-Nassr | 26 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 47 | 34 | +13 | 44 | Qualification to AFC Champions League play-off round |
| 4 | Al-Ettifaq | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 37 | 46 | −9 | 36 | |
| 5 | Al-Fateh | 26 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 34 | 39 | −5 | 36 | |
| 6 | Al-Faisaly | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 39 | 33 | +6 | 35 | |
| 7 | Al-Taawoun | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 43 | 36 | +7 | 34 | |
| 8 | Al-Fayha | 26 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 36 | 40 | −4 | 34 | |
| 9 | Al-Ittihad | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 34 | 41 | −7 | 33 | Qualification to AFC Champions League group stage |
| 10 | Al-Shabab | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 31 | |
| 11 | Al-Batin | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 35 | 46 | −11 | 31 | |
| 12 | Al-Qadsiah | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 28 | 41 | −13 | 25 | |
| 13 | Al-Raed (O) | 26 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 43 | 53 | −10 | 24 | Qualification to relegation play-offs |
| 14 | Ohod (O) | 26 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 24 | 48 | −24 | 18 |
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
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 | |
| Qualification to relegation play-off | |
| Relegation to 2017–18 First Division |
Results
Season progress
Relegation play-offs
On March 7, 2018, the Saudi Football Federation announced that the number of teams in the Saudi Professional League will be increased from 14 teams to 16 teams. The relegation was removed and in its place, they announced a relegation play-off. The bottom 2 teams will face the 3rd and 4th place team in the Prince Mohammad bin Salman League.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Raed | 5–1 | Al-Kawkab | 4–1 | 1–0 |
| Ohod | 7–1 | Al-Tai | 5–0 | 2–1 |
Al-Raed won 5–1 on aggregate.
Ohod won 7–1 on aggregate.
Statistics
Top scorers
| Top assists
|
Hat-tricks
| Clean sheets
|
Discipline
Player
- Most yellow cards: 11
Majed Kanabah (Al-Batin)- Sami Al-Khaibari (Al-Fayha)
- Most red cards: 1
- 17 players
Club
- Most yellow cards: 60
- Al-Ettifaq
- Most red cards: 3
- Al-Fateh
Attendances
By round
| Round | Total | GP. | Avg. Per Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 34,900 | 7 | 4,986 |
| Round 2 | 36,791 | 7 | 5,256 |
| Round 3 | 19,341 | 7 | 2,763 |
| Round 4 | 66,932 | 7 | 9,562 |
| Round 5 | 21,239 | 7 | 3,034 |
| Round 6 | 25,431 | 7 | 3,633 |
| Round 7 | 56,556 | 7 | 8,079 |
| Round 8 | 28,010 | 7 | 4,001 |
| Round 9 | 31,203 | 7 | 4,458 |
| Round 10 | 37,546 | 7 | 5,364 |
| Round 11 | 33,441 | 7 | 4,777 |
| Round 12 | 25,655 | 7 | 3,665 |
| Round 13 | 27,335 | 7 | 3,905 |
| Round 14 | 21,611 | 7 | 3,087 |
| Round 15 | 23,898 | 7 | 3,414 |
| Round 16 | 34,767 | 7 | 4,967 |
| Round 17 | 61,441 | 7 | 8,777 |
| Round 18 | 39,973 | 7 | 5,710 |
| Round 19 | 58,770 | 7 | 8,396 |
| Round 20 | 59,291 | 7 | 8,470 |
| Round 21 | 51,047 | 7 | 7,292 |
| Round 22 | 34,328 | 7 | 4,904 |
| Round 23 | 66,973 | 7 | 9,568 |
| Round 24 | 42,595 | 7 | 6,085 |
| Round 25 | 65,232 | 7 | 9,319 |
| Round 26 | 37,765 | 7 | 5,395 |
| Total | 1,042,071 | 182 | 5,726 |
Source:
By team
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Ahli | 216,456 | 43,794 | 4,831 | 16,650 | −19.5% |
| 2 | Al-Ittihad | 210,757 | 45,913 | 3,470 | 16,212 | −36.2% |
| 3 | Al-Hilal | 158,523 | 26,602 | 3,319 | 12,194 | −20.8% |
| 4 | Ohod | 79,325 | 16,529 | 991 | 6,102 | n/a † |
| 5 | Al-Nassr | 71,246 | 17,879 | 1,166 | 5,480 | −28.2% |
| 6 | Al-Raed | 62,000 | 17,003 | 1,864 | 4,769 | −18.4% |
| 7 | Al-Taawoun | 50,385 | 8,084 | 1,238 | 3,876 | −22.9% |
| 8 | Al-Ettifaq | 40,175 | 14,618 | 503 | 3,090 | −18.0% |
| 9 | Al-Fateh | 38,709 | 7,924 | 871 | 2,978 | −12.0% |
| 10 | Al-Batin | 34,952 | 6,500 | 832 | 2,689 | +3.1% |
| 11 | Al-Shabab | 27,764 | 9,511 | 553 | 2,136 | −23.7% |
| 12 | Al Qadsiah | 26,948 | 8,443 | 498 | 2,073 | +20.6% |
| 13 | Al-Faisaly | 12,632 | 2,316 | 275 | 972 | +27.9% |
| 14 | Al-Fayha | 12,199 | 1,781 | 279 | 938 | n/a † |
| League total | 1,042,071 | 45,913 | 275 | 5,726 | −18.0% |
Updated to games played on 12 April 2018
Source:
Notes:
† Teams played previous season in First Division.
Awards
For the first time in the history of the competition, the Saudi Football Federation announced annual awards for the best player in each position, best young player and the perfect team.
- Manager of the Year: Vuk Rašović (Al-Faisaly)
- Best Goalkeeper: Mohammed Al-Owais (Al-Ahli)
- Best defender: Motaz Hawsawi (Al-Ahli)
- Best Full-back: Yasser Al-Shahrani (Al-Hilal)
- Best Midfielder: Carlos Villanueva (Al-Ittihad)
- Best attacker: Ronnie Fernández (Al-Fayha)
- Player of the Year: Carlos Villanueva (Al-Ittihad)
- Young Player of the Year: Turki Al-Ammar (Al-Shabab)
- Top Scorer: Ronnie Fernández (Al-Fayha)
- Perfect Team: Al-Hilal
See also
References
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