Fierce rivalries, affable fans and continental success: Saudi football’s true identity stands out from the wealth
Fierce rivalries, affable fans and continental success: Saudi football’s true identity stands out from the wealth
Kendrick Lamar’s track “They Not Like Us” has seen an unprecedented surge of listeners in the last two weeks after his performance at the Super Bowl 2025.
Jeddah in Saudi Arabia is no exception. The city’s Saudi Pro League home club, Al Ittihad, hosted arch-rival Al Hilal at the King Abdullah Sports City on Saturday in what was touted to be a title-deciding tie. And, a section of the 50,000-plus home fans displayed a tifo with the phrase “They Not Like Us” directed as a taunt towards the blue brigade occupying an adjacent stand.
The tifo represents the long-standing notion among the Al Ittihad fans that their club is “for the people and by the people” as opposed to Al Hilal, which is “run by the rich”. However, the narrative changed in mid-2023 when the country’s Public Investment Fund took over both the clubs, alongside the Cristiano Ronaldo-led Al Nassr and Al Ahli.
Additionally, the ‘Saudi El Clasico’ rivalry has further intensified as the two clubs occupy the top two places in the league table, with Al Ittihad four points clear of Al Hilal.
The clash was delayed by 45 minutes in the aftermath of the Saudi crown prince attending the annual Saudi Cup horse race, elsewhere in the city. However, the fans seemed to care less about the timings, arriving in huge numbers, almost five hours before the kick-off, equipped with flags and scarves of their respective clubs.
The sides have seen some of the fiercest battles, even before the rebranding of SPL in 2008. They have met each other in 11 finals across competitions, with Al Hilal being marginally ahead of Al Ittihad with six wins. Despite sharing a long-standing rivalry, dating back to 1957, the fans seem to understand that they are opposites only when their teams play against each other.
Fans sporting the jerseys of both sides were seen sharing food, laughing, and even praying together before the start of the game.
“If you start a conversation with anyone from Saudi, you’ll understand we’re well-educated and welcoming. We know it’s a sport, and once the game is over, we are brothers and sisters. Even in most of the households here, each family member might support different city rivals. So, we know what we’re doing, and we keep it to just football,” says Mohammed Allehyani, an ardent Al Ittihad fan.
Haithm Abdullah, a Jeddah resident who supports Riyadh-based Al Hilal, echoed the sentiments of Allehyani. “I’ve supported Al Hilal from a very young age because of my uncle. He passed on his passion to me. But we display competitiveness only when we see each other in the stadium where our teams play, but apart from that, we’re brothers,” he says.
As the clock ticked towards kick-off, the tension rose outside the stands. The Al Hilal ultras, accounting for barely one-third of the home fans, were the loudest when players began their warm up.
In reply, the Al Ittihad fans, seated bang opposite their rivals, brought the roof down when captain Karim Benzema’s name was announced in the playing 11.
With a light show, the match commenced in a grand manner. To the home fans’ dismay, Brazilian striker Marcos Leonardo opened the scoring for the away side with a left-footed close-range shot towards the bottom right corner.
However, what followed was Benzema’s men showing why they are, what they are this season.
Hasan Kadesh provided the equaliser for the home side within six minutes of conceding, and from then on, it was one-way traffic. Steven Bergwijn, who has been a standout performer for Al Ittihad up front, netted a brace, and Benzema scored an 86th-minute goal to seal a dominant win for his club as the noise levels soared upwards of 105 decibels.
Laurent Blanc, Al Hilal’s head coach, had a wide smile while talking about the fan support his side received. “Our fans have always been behind us through thick and thin. Today, even when we conceded first, they were fully backing us, and that inspired us to play the way we played,” he said during the post-match press conference.
In the 2023-24 SPL season, Al Hilal and Al Ittihad had the second and third-best average attendance, only behind the latter’s city rival, Al Ahli.
Apart from the superstar signings that these clubs have done in the recent past, the driving forces for fans to watch a match live are abundant, starting from the ticket prices.
Al Hilal and Al Ittihad have almost identical ticket pricing structures, with the cheapest ones costing 30 Saudi Riyals. The same amount that one might spend on a meal and a drink at Al Baik, one of Saudi Arabia’s leading fast-food chains.
Saudi Arabia’s footballing culture is diverse as well. Almost everyone follows football religiously or keeps tabs on how their favourite clubs are performing.
Allehyani believes that the popularity of the sport is due to the exposure that they get to amateur tournaments right from a very young age. “Even school students take part actively in some local football tournament or the other. I went through a similar experience, and I think that’s the most important factor for a sport to grow in a region.”
While eyebrow-raising recruitments in the SPL have helped the country gain global recognition in football, people here believe their identity is much more than just that.
At the continental level, the clubs have given their fans a lot to boast about. Al Hilal is the most successful club in the AFC Champions League, with four titles — the latest addition to the trophy cabinet being the title run in 2021. Meanwhile, Al Ittihad is a two-time ACL champion.
The next major boost for Saudi with regards to football will be the 2034 FIFA World Cup, and the nation will hope that it serves as a catalyst for an unprecedented growth.
