All eyes were on the Saudi Pro League during the summer transfer window, as some of the world’s most famous players made the switch to the Middle East. More than £750 million was spent as the likes of Neymar, Sadio Mané and Riyad Mahrez followed Cristiano Ronaldo in signing lucrative deals with Saudi clubs — but how many are watching them in the stands?
As Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson’s Al-Ettifaq lost 1-0 away to Al-Riyadh over the weekend, only 696 people were in attendance. It was not the only match in the competition to attract a paltry crowd this season.
Al-Ittihad, the Saudi Pro League champions, have recorded the highest average attendance so far (29,044). The signings of the Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kanté and Fabinho have boosted their popularity overseas, but the figure still falls short of the 40,453 average that was achieved last season.
Al-Hilal, who have won a record 18 Saudi Pro League titles, hosted the best-attended match this season. There were 59,600 in the King Fahd International Stadium for the game against Al-Fayha on August 19, with the match coinciding with Neymar’s unveiling as an Al-Hilal player.
Not all Saudi clubs can afford the fees and wages needed to bring in top players from Europe. Only the four sides controlled by the country’s Public Investment Fund (Al-Hilal, Al-Ahli, Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad) have an average attendance of more than 10,000 so far this season, while Abha’s home games are the worst attended, with an average of 1,988 supporters.
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To put these numbers into context, Bradford City have averaged 16,362 spectators in their home games in League Two this season. Forest Green Rovers have the lowest average attendance (2,102) in England’s fourth tier, but their figure is still higher than Abha’s.
Despite all the star-studded additions to the Saudi Pro League, only four teams have increased their average attendance this season: Al-Nassr, Al-Raed, Al-Ettifaq and Al-Hilal, who have enjoyed the biggest increase, from 9,541 to 22,381.
The smallest crowd of the season so far was for Al-Riyadh’s home match against Al-Okhdood, with only 133 fans in the 15,000-seater Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium.
Al-Taawoun fill the largest share of their stadium, with 98.8 per cent of the 5,961-capacity venue being filled on average. They are second in the league behind Al-Hilal.
