Roshn Saudi League 2023/24: A Game-Changing Season
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – 31st May 2024: In a new era for Saudi Arabia football, the 2023/24 Roshn Saudi League proved a game-changing season – with more goals, interest and growth for the league than ever before.
Omar Mugharbel, Saudi Pro League CEO, said: “The 2023/24 Roshn Saudi League season will be remembered as a milestone moment in the growth of elite football in Saudi Arabia. Some of the best players in the world chose the Roshn Saudi League to showcase their incredible talents alongside the next generation of young Saudi talent. Their arrival amplified even further the huge interest in the league from fans, broadcasters and sponsors. It is impossible to overstate how much of a game-changing season 2023/24 has been.”
On the pitch, champions Al Hilal created football history, and global headlines, by setting a world, top-flight record for the number of successive victories – winning 34 games in a row across all competitions in an unbeaten campaign.
Cristiano Ronaldo built on his success in calendar year 2023, where he netted the most club goals in the world with 54 in 59 appearances and also set a record for most goals scored in a season. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who made his Al Nassr debut in January 2023, scored an incredible 35 goals from 31 Roshn Saudi League matches in the 2023/24 campaign. In the most entertaining season of the modern era a total of 909 goals were scored – an increase of 40% from last year’s campaign.
The season began with major internationals signings such as Karim Benzema, Neymar, Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mane, N’Golo Kante, Georgino Wijnaldum, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Ruben Neves attracting 156 players from 54 countries that have been part Roshn Saudi League. With a focus on developing young Saudi talent to excel on the global stage, the age eligibility for young players was reduced from 18 to 16 years old with the average age of players season dropping to 27.5 years old.
Off the pitch, the transformation of the league generated even wider global attention. These were reflected in major milestones achieved across metrics such as broadcast deals, sponsorship agreements, and social media reach. More than 160 countries broadcast the Roshn Saudi League on 38 global platforms taking the league to more football fans than ever before. Digitally the Roshn Saudi League social media channels grew with 6.72 million new followers, representing a 141% increase from the start of the season.
Mugharbel added: “As we progress to full preparations for next season, there is no doubt that the league will continue to grow from strength to strength. What is crucial now is enhancing the offering for all stakeholders across the Roshn Saudi League to ensure that we deliver a product on and off the field that is truly and consistently world class across all metrics. These are hugely exciting times for football in Saudi Arabia and we look forward immensely to the Roshn Saudi League season 2024/25.”
Roshn Saudi League 2023/24 in numbers:
Players
There were 156 players from 54 countries
The age eligibility for young players was reduced from 18 to 16 years old
The average age of players this season fell by 1.5 years from 29 to 27.5 years old
Goals
A total of 909 goals were scored this season from 306 games – an increase of 40% from last season
By netting 35 goals, Al Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo set a new record for goals scored in a top-flight Saudi league season. The Portuguese legend’s achievement overtook Abderrazak Hamdallah’s mark of 34 in 2018/19. Ronaldo has scored 64 goals in 69 games for Al Nassr in all competitions since joining the club in late December 2022
A record was set for the most the hat-tricks in a season, with a total of 17 hat-tricks scored
Stadiums
Eight Roshn Saudi League clubs moved into new stadiums this year: Al Hilal, Al Shabab, Al Ettifaq, Al Fateh, Al Taawoun, Al Raed, Al Hazem, and Damac
Top five attendances
Week 2: Al Hilal v Al Fayha, 59,600
Week 9: Al Ittihad v Al Ahli, 55,764
Week 24: Al Ahli v Al Nassr, 52,037
Week 11: Al Hilal v Al Ahli, 50,986
Week 26: Al Ahli v Al Ittihad, 50,633
Awards
The Roshn Saudi League winners for season 2023/24 were Al Hilal, who claimed the title under the management of Jorge Jesus. Al Hilal finished the season unbeaten – winning 31 of their 34 games – on 96 points. They finished 14 points ahead of second-placed Al Nassr
Al Hilal created top-flight world football history earlier in the campaign by winning 34 matches in succession across all competitions. This incredible achievement saw them overtake Welsh club The News Saints’ winning streak of 27 games in season 2016-17. Prior to that, the record stood for 44 years following Dutch giants Ajax’s 26-game winning run between 1971 and 1972
The Roshn Saudi League 2023/24 Manager of the Season award was won by Jorge Jesus of Al Hilal after he won five Manager of the Month awards during the campaign
The Roshn Saudi League 2023/24 Top Goalscorer award was won by Cristiano Ronaldo of Al Nasr after he netted 35 goals during the campaign
The Roshn Saudi League 2023/24 Goalkeeper of the Season award was won by Yassine Bounou of Al Hilal after earning 15 clean sheets and conceding the least amount of goals
Broadcast
More than 160 countries broadcast the Roshn Saudi League on 38 global platforms, representing an increase of around 30% on the more than 125 countries who secured the rights to broadcast the league last campaign
Sponsorship
Sponsors increased from three last season to 11 this season – a 267% increase
The number of international sponsors trebled to three this season from one last season, a 200% increase
Social Media and Fantasy Football
Roshn Saudi League social media channels grew by 6.72 million new followers, representing a 141% increase from the start of the season
There are now over 11 million followers combined on all Roshn Saudi League social media channels
League pages were also launched on Chinese social media platforms Weibo and Douyin
There are over 2 million followers on each of the league’s X (Twitter) Arabic, Instagram Arabic and
TikTok accounts
The number of impressions across all social media channels totalled 1.5billion, a 315% increase from last season
RSL Fantasy League launched on November 12 and gained 100,000 users within the first week. Currently at 181,000 users from 50 countries, the top five RSL fantasy players come from the following nations: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Sudan.
