Al-Ahli Saudi FC

Al-Ahli's origins are uniquely charming in Saudi football. In 1937, a group of students at Al-Falah School in Jeddah decided they wanted to create a proper sporting institution for their city. What began as a student project quickly grew into something larger, as the club attracted supporters from across Jeddah's diverse community. The port city's cosmopolitan character — shaped by centuries of pilgrim traffic and international trade — gave Al-Ahli a distinctive identity that mixed local pride with global awareness. Through the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, Al-Ahli competed in regional tournaments and friendly matches, steadily building a reputation as one of the Hejaz region's strongest teams. By the time the Saudi Professional Football League was established in 1976, Al-Ahli were ready to take their place among the nation's elite, becoming one of the four founding members of the top flight.

The professional era was kind to Al-Ahli. The club won their first league title in 1977-78 and followed it with a sustained period of success that saw them accumulate multiple championships, King's Cup trophies, and Crown Prince Cups. The 1978 campaign was particularly historic — Al-Ahli became the first Saudi club to win the league and the King's Cup in the same season, a feat they repeated in 2016. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Al-Ahli were consistent top-four finishers, capable of beating anyone on their day. The club's rivalry with Al-Ittihad — the Jeddah Derby or Western Derby — became one of the defining fixtures in Saudi football, splitting the city along green-and-white and black-and-gold lines. Al-Ahli's King's Cup record is particularly impressive: thirteen titles make them the most successful club in the competition's history, a testament to their consistency and big-game mentality across decades.

The 2005-2022 period tested Al-Ahli's character like never before. The club won the 2015-16 Saudi Pro League title — their first in years — becoming the first team in a decade to break the Riyadh clubs' grip on the championship. But the following years brought inconsistency, managerial turnover, and a gradual decline in competitiveness. The nadir came in the 2021-22 season when Al-Ahli were relegated from the Saudi Pro League for the first time in their history — a shocking result for a founding member of the top flight who had never previously dropped out. The relegation sent shockwaves through Jeddah and prompted soul-searching at every level of the club. But Al-Ahli's response was emphatic: they won the second division immediately and returned to the Saudi Pro League for the 2022-23 season, demonstrating the resilience and determination that had sustained the club for nearly a century.