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RIYADH: The new Roshn Saudi League season begins this week with three of the country’s biggest clubs preparing for what promises to be the most competitive campaign yet.

Reigning champions Al-Ittihad open their title defense on Saturday away to Al-Akhdoud, but coach Laurent Blanc has warned that the challenge of repeating last year’s domestic double will be even tougher.

“We feel very good about starting a new season, especially after the success of the previous one,” Blanc said.

“From the first day of pre-season, I told my players that the 2025–26 season would be much more difficult than 2024–25. Why? Because all our opponents will want to beat us. And that’s normal. Just as last year we wanted to beat everyone, this year we are the team to beat.

“That’s something we have to accept. We must prepare well, individually and collectively, and the preparation has gone very well. If we are not ready mentally to face these opponents, the season will be complicated. So we have to prepare properly and be ready,” he added.

Blanc, who was named Coach of the Year after his debut campaign in Jeddah, stressed that personal accolades mean little compared to collective success. 

“Personal success doesn’t interest me at all. I love football because it’s a team sport,” he said.

“Last year was wonderful because we shared it with the fans, with the players, with everyone in the club. That’s why I love sport; to share, not to stand alone and win for myself. That doesn’t interest me. I like to share, and I hope we can share even more this season.”

Al-Ahli confident of building on continental triumph

City rivals Al-Ahli also enter the season with high expectations after lifting the AFC Champions League Elite in May and following up with Saudi Super Cup success earlier this month. Coach Matthias Jaissle said the continental victory had given his players belief as well as responsibility.

“It was a historical moment to win the AFC trophy. It creates confidence but also raises expectations,” Jaissle said.

“We want to take that momentum in a positive way by carrying these good memories and this confidence into the new season. There will be new challenges waiting this whole season, but we are confident.”

Jaissle, now the longest-serving coach in the league, believes his two years of experience in Saudi football could give his side an edge.

“You get used to the different opponents, the teams with their players. That's a learning curve you can definitely use for your advantage,” he said.

“You also learn with different circumstances how to handle, for example, the heat with different conditions, and the tight schedule; playing every three days, that was a big lesson for us and showing that consistency will be important for the new season.”

The German manager pointed to the quality across the league, highlighting Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad and Al-Qadsiah among the main contenders, while also warning against underestimating promoted side Neom, who Al-Ahli narrowly beat in Thursday’s curtain-raiser.

“That shows that there will be big competition, and the league will be much more competitive compared to a few years ago,” he said.

“Overall, I think the league is progressing really well. There's clearly development and that the league is improving.”

Inzaghi seeks to restore Al-Hilal to the summit

For Al-Hilal, the new season offers a chance to reset after finishing last term without silverware. New manager Simone Inzaghi has already overseen a run to the FIFA Club World Cup quarterfinals, including a famous victory over Manchester City, and is determined to turn that momentum into trophies.

“The Club World Cup was a very positive experience, and it definitely has to serve as motivation,” Inzaghi said. “We know that last year Al-Hilal’s season didn’t go as expected because no titles were won. The hope is to do good teamwork, to entertain our fans, and to try to bring trophies to this club.”

The Italian, whose four years at Inter Milan yielded a Serie A title and two Coppa Italias, said he was quickly convinced by Al-Hilal’s ambition.

“I was convinced by Al-Hilal because it is a huge club, and the management made me feel very appreciated here, and I really wanted to be part of it,” he said.

“They strongly convinced me, and I came here with a great desire to do this. We had a fantastic Club World Cup, and now we are preparing to start the league in the best possible way.”

Ronaldo is still a name above all others when attention turns to the Saudi football league’s season-opening round.
Just like it was earlier this month when more than 30,000 fans turned out in Hong Kong to watch Al-Nassr defeat Al-Ittihad 2-1 in the first semifinal of the Saudi Super Cup on Aug. 19, he’s part of the league’s growth and marketing plans.
“The majority can only be described as Cristiano Ronaldo fans,” Chris KL Lau, a Hong Kong resident and fan, told The Associated Press. “The match had an electric buzz and each time Ronaldo had the ball there was excitement.”
The Portuguese star was mobbed the following day when he visited the city’s official Cristiano Ronaldo museum. “Fans have traveled from across China, ������Ƶ and the Asia-Pacific to see him,” Lau said.
After Ronaldo left Manchester United and joined the Saudi Pro League in December 2022, other big names followed to Riyadh, Jeddah and elsewhere, including Karim Benzema, Neymar and Riyad Mahrez. The ‘Big Four’ – Al-Nassr, Ittihad as well as Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli – were taken over by ������Ƶ’s Public Investment Fund in 2023 and have budgets as big as ambitions.
The league season kicked off Thursday with three games. Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr opens Friday against Al-Taawoun.
While the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is still the international face of the league, backers are working to expand the reach of the league. But the importance of Ronaldo’s presense was evident in the second game at Hong Kong Stadium between Al-Ahli and Al-Qadsiah, when organizers announced a crowd of 16,000. Some doubt that figure.
“Those who were at the game reckon only 5,000 to 6,000 fans were inside,” Lau said “Fans were happy to splash the cash for Ronaldo but were less inclined to do so for Al-Ahli and Al Qadsiah. This resulted in rows of empty seats.”
Expanding influence
Simon Chadwick, a specialist in the relationship between sports, geopolitics and economics, said while people are aware Ronaldo plays in ������Ƶ, “It’s questionable just how much they know about Al-Nassr or the Pro League.”
“He has been helpful in raising global awareness of Saudi football,” Chadwick, professor of Afro-Eurasian Sport at Emlyon Business School in Paris, said, “but there needs to be greater depth and more sustainable engagement in relations with fans.”
Wael Al-Fayez, the league’s chief commercial officer, says that is already happening.
“Last season, we reached a record 180 countries worldwide, up from 150 the year before,” Al Fayez said. “On the sponsorship side, international deals have surged by 200 percent, which reflects real, measurable growth. On social media, our following grew from 11 million to 15 million last season, with a 60 percent jump in engagement.”
Playing games overseas is another strategy. As Lau, the fan in Hong Kong, noted: “Media coverage here means it was impossible not to be aware of these matches.”
Attracting fans around the world, as major European clubs such as Real Madrid and Liverpool already do, is a long process.
“If Saudi clubs are to compete on the same basis, it will take decades to build a global fan base,” Chadwick said. “So they need to tell a different story to people. The likes of Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal need to give fans something that they can’t get elsewhere.”
Next goal
This could involve becoming Asia’s premier club team.
“Currently, there is no obvious candidate that qualifies as Asia’s No. 1 club or brand,” Chadwick said, “so why shouldn’t this be a Saudi club?”
Domination of Asian continental club competitions will help.
The investment in players has clearly increased standards. Three of the four semifinalists in last season’s Asian Champions League were from ������Ƶ, with Al-Ahli going on to win the title.
At the Club World Cup in August, Al-Hilal was the only Asian team to make a big impact, drawing with Real Madrid in the group stage and then defeating Manchester City 4-3 in the round of 16.
“The appetite for football globally is growing, and the Saudi Pro League is on its way to become the home of football outside Europe,” Al-Fayez said. “It’s been an incredible start to our journey, and the momentum is undeniable.”