2008–09 Saudi Pro League


The 2008–09 Saudi Professional League was the 33rd season of Saudi Pro League since its establishment in 1976 and first after rebranding to the Saudi Pro League. Al-Hilal were the defending champions, having won their 11th title in the previous season. The campaign began on 13 September 2008 and ended on 12 April 2009. A total of 12 teams contested the league, 10 of which already contested in the 2007–08 season, and two of which were promoted from the First Division.
On 12 April 2009, in the final round of the season, Al-Ittihad won the title after a 2–1 victory over Al-Hilal. It was their eighth league title overall. Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal, Al-Ahli and Al-Shabab all secured a berth for the AFC Champions League, while Al-Nassr and Al-Ettifaq qualified for the Gulf Club Champions Cup. Al-Watani and Abha were relegated to the Saudi First Division League.

Changes

Professional League rebrand

On 26 May 2008, the SAFF announced that the league would be rebranded as Saudi Pro League. The changes were based on the criteria introduced by AFC President Mohammed bin Hammam to improve the football standards in Asia. The changes also included a website dedicated to recording statistics of the league for the first time. It was also announced that the website would be run by the Saudi Pro League board rather than the SAFF.

Qualification and Prize money

The league champions, runners-up and third place as well as the winner of the King Cup of Champions qualified for the 2010 AFC Champions League.
The top eight teams qualified for King Cup of Champions.
Prize money:
  • First place: 2.5 million Saudi Riyals
  • Second place: 1.5 million Saudi Riyals
  • Third place: 1 million Saudi Riyals

Teams

Twelve teams competed in the league – the top ten teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from the Saudi First Division League. The promoted teams were Al-Raed and Abha. They replaced Al-Tai and Al-Qadsiah.

Stadiums and locations


ClubLocationStadiumCapacity
AbhaAbhaPrince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City20,000
Al-AhliJeddahPrince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City24,000
Al-EttifaqDammamPrince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium30,000
Al-HazemAr RassAl-Hazem Club Stadium11,000
Al-HilalRiyadhKing Fahd Sports City69,000
Al-IttihadJeddahPrince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City24,000
Al-NassrRiyadhKing Fahd Sports City69,000
Al-RaedBuraidahKing Abdullah Sports City35,000
Al-ShababRiyadhKing Fahd Sports City69,000
Al-WataniTabukKing Khalid Sport City Stadium20,000
Al-WehdaMeccaKing Abdulaziz Sports City28,550
NajranNajranPrince Hathloul bin Abdulaziz Sports City10,000

Foreign players

The number of foreign players was limited to 3 per team, and should not be a goalkeeper. For the January transfer window, the SAFF added an additional slot for a player from one of the AFC countries.
  • Players name in bold indicates the player was registered during mid-season transfer window.
  • Players name in italic indicates the player was de-registered or left their respective clubs during mid-season transfer window.
ClubPlayer 1Player 2Player 3AFC PlayerFormer players
Abha

Relegation play-offs

Al-Raed, who finished 10th, faced Abha, who finished 11th for a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score after both matches earned entry into the Pro league next season while the loser were relegated to the First Division. Al-Raed won 4–3 on aggregate and retained their place in the next edition.

Second leg

''Al-Raed won 4–3 on aggregate.''

Season statistics

Scoring

Hat-tricks

;Notes
4 Player scored 4 goals
– Home team
– Away team

Discipline

Player

Club

Awards

The following awards were given following the conclusion of the season. The awards were known as the Arriyadiyah and Mobily Awards for Sports Excellence and were sponsored by Saudi newspaper Arriyadiyah and Saudi telecommunication company Mobily. The awards were presented on 30 May 2009.
AwardWinnerClub
Player of the Season silver2fbicon|LBYbronze3fbicon|KSAgold1