Saudi Pro League

Season Calendar

The Saudi Pro League season runs from August through May, closely mirroring the European football calendar. Each of the 18 clubs plays 34 matches in a double round-robin format — one home fixture and one away fixture against every opponent. The season is punctuated by international breaks for FIFA windows, during which the league pauses to release players for national team duty. The Saudi Super Cup, contested between the reigning league champion and the King's Cup winner, traditionally opens the campaign as a curtain-raiser to the new season.

Team Format

Each SPL club may register up to eight foreign players in their squad, with a maximum of seven permitted on the matchday roster. This foreign player quota is a central feature of the league's structure, balancing the ambition to attract global stars with the mandate to develop Saudi national team talent. Clubs backed by the Public Investment Fund — Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad, and Al-Ahli — operate with significantly larger budgets than their competitors, creating a two-tier financial landscape within the division. There is no formal salary cap, though the league has introduced financial fair play regulations to promote sustainability among non-PIF clubs.

Game Format

Matches are played eleven-a-side under standard FIFA Laws of the Game. Each match consists of two 45-minute halves with stoppage time added by the referee. The objective is to score goals by putting the ball into the opposing team's net using any body part except the hands and arms, which only the goalkeeper may use within the penalty area. Three points are awarded for a win and one for a draw, with goal difference used to separate teams level on points.

Key Rules

VAR (Video Assistant Referee) technology is used in all SPL matches, with a centralized VAR hub reviewing key decisions related to goals, penalties, red cards, and mistaken identity. Each team is permitted five substitutions across three windows plus half-time, in line with the IFAB-approved rule change. Yellow and red card discipline follows standard FIFA protocols, with accumulated booking thresholds triggering automatic suspensions. The offside rule, handball regulations, and all other laws conform to the latest IFAB updates adopted globally.

Playoff Format

The team finishing atop the 34-match league table is crowned Saudi Pro League champion. The bottom two teams are automatically relegated to the Saudi First Division, while the First Division's top two clubs earn automatic promotion. A third relegation/promotion place is decided by a two-legged playoff between the 16th-placed SPL team and the 3rd-placed First Division side.

The top finishers in the SPL qualify for the AFC Champions League Elite, with the number of spots determined by the Asian Football Confederation's coefficient ranking for Saudi Arabia. Saudi clubs have been dominant in continental competition, with Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, and Al-Ahli all lifting the trophy in recent years. Qualification for the AFC Champions League is a significant source of prestige and revenue, and the race for continental spots adds an extra layer of intensity to the upper reaches of the table.