Saudi Professional League/import

The Saudi Professional League, officially known as, is the main football competition in Saudi Arabia. The first competition was held in the year of 1976-77. Al-Hilal is the current title-holder (2010), and holds the best record in the competition, winning it 12 times.

The league also known for sponsorship reasons as Zain Saudi League, named after the sponsor Zain telecom.

History
Up until the late seventies, football in Saudi Arabia was organised on a regional basis, with the only nationwide tournament being the King's Cup. In 1976, it was deemed that local football, and transportation links, have improved sufficiently to organise a national league. Hence the Saudi League was launched with 8 clubs participating.

In 1981 it was decided to increase the number of clubs and add a second division. The league competition for the 1981/1982, known as the ranking league, featured 18 clubs with the top eight qualifying for the first division and the bottom ten to the new second division. The number of first division clubs was later increased to 12 in the 1984/1985 season.

In 1990 it was decided to revamp local competitions and to introduce professional football. A new league championship was formed called "The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques League Cup", which was a two stage championship. The first stage was a regular double round-robin league competition with the top 4 qualifying to the final knockout stage, called the golden square. Clubs were allowed to sign players on a professional basis making the league semi professional.

In 2007 It was decided to split the two stages, with the league reverting to a standard double round-robin competition, and a new domestic competition cup competition formed called "The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques Champions Cup". This cup will feature the top six finishers in the league plus the winners of the Crown Prince Cup and the Prince Faisal Cup. This format will take effect from the 2007/2008 season onwards.

Qualification and prize money
The top four teams in the league qualifiy to the AFC Asian Champions League group stage. The Top six qualify to Champions Cup.

Prize money:


 * First place: 2.5 million Saudi Riyals
 * Second place: 1.5 million Saudi Riyals
 * Third place: 1 million Saudi Riyals

List of teams (2010/11 season)

 * Al-Ahli (Jeddah)
 * Al-Ettifaq (Dammam)
 * Al-Faisaly (Harmah)
 * Al Fateh (Al-Hasa)
 * Al Hazm (Ar Rass)
 * Al-Hilal (Riyadh)
 * Al-Ittihad (Jeddah)
 * Al-Nasr (Riyadh)
 * Al-Qadisiya (Khobar)
 * Al-Shabab (Riyadh)
 * Al Taawon (Buraydah)
 * Al-Wahda (Mecca)
 * Najran (Najran)
 * Al-Raed (Buraydah)