Riyadh: Members of the General Assembly of the Saudi Football History Documentation Project approved its comprehensive final report after 13 months of dedicated effort. The significant achievement, the first of its kind in Saudi football history, was reached following nine unanimous approvals of project procedures throughout its duration.
According to Saudi Press Agency, the culmination of its work occurred during the tenth and final meeting of the General Assembly members today in Riyadh. The meeting was attended by Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) Secretary-General Ibrahim Alkassim, representatives from member clubs, the project’s working group, and delegates from the Ministry of Sport, the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (Darah), the Saudi Broadcasting Authority, and the Saudi Pro League. Experts nominated by FIFA also contributed their expertise to the project.
The project meticulously documented 123 years of Saudi football history, spanning seven distinct historical stages f
rom the reign of King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud to the present reign of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, covering the period from 1902.
The resulting report is organized into five key sections. The first section details the evolution of Saudi football, emphasizing the support of the leadership, the development of facilities and infrastructure, and the royal sponsorship of competitions.
The second section focuses on national teams, including their official participations across all categories, lists of players and coaches, and collective achievements. The third section chronicles the officials of the SAFF, including presidents, secretaries, board members, and representatives in continental and international federations.
The fourth section is dedicated to clubs and competitions, providing a comprehensive list of all tournaments held in the Kingdom, records of honor, and a chronology, adhering to established terms and definitions. It also covers women’s football. Th
e fifth section presents detailed statistics and appendices.
The project team undertook comparative analyses of similar projects in 11 other nations and competition classification systems in 24 countries, examining the concepts of leagues and knockout tournaments, and the origins of competition structures.
The final report on national teams tracked 1,141 matches across 251 competitions, resulting in an impressive tally of 23 international, 12 continental, and 20 Gulf, Arab, and Islamic achievements.
In the realm of club competitions, the project team monitored 3,910 tournaments involving 155 teams, including 12 competitions from the pioneer period (1932 to May 1956). Specialized entities organized 3,726 competitions domestically and 50 championships abroad. The project team also documented 122 championships organized by non-specialized entities, both locally and internationally. The data included 1,282 competitions for the first team and 2,628 for age-group teams.
A significant finding of the project was
the correction of the SAFF’s founding date to May 18, 1955, based on a historical letter sent to FIFA by the Ministry of Interior’s general administration of physical education and scouting in 1955, revising the previously held date of June 10, 1956.
The project concluded that the 1957/1958 sports season marked the inception of the Saudi League (Kingdom League). Consequently, the current Saudi Pro League (Roshn Saudi League) is the 68th season in history, with 63 seasons completed and champions determined, in addition to the ongoing season and four seasons that were suspended or not completed for various reasons.
Notably, 66 competitions have been honored with a royal name, including 36 King’s Cup knockout tournaments, 30 league competitions, and 37 Crown Prince Cup knockout tournaments.
Following the General Assembly’s approval of the final report, the project team will finalize all necessary procedures before officially releasing the report and making it available on the SAFF website.
