So far this season, an average of 8,470 fans have attended a Saudi Pro League match, with Al-Ettifaq’s defeat over Al-Riyadh drawing fewer than four figures.
The Saudi Pro League has received its fair share of criticism since it began to sign the world’s top stars, but there is no doubt that it has captured the attention of many around the world, if not necessarily in the stands.
Cristiano Ronaldo became the first high-profile signing in Saudi Arabia when he joined Al-Nassr in January. There was then a summer of spending power, with Saudi teams spending over £750 million as the likes of Neymar, Riyad Mahrez, Jordan Henderson, and Fabinho joined the exodus from elite European sides.
Despite the influx of celebrities, people are still not flocking to stadiums around the country, and attendance is low. Only 696 people turned out to watch Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq lose 1-0 to Al-Riyadh at the weekend. There were 792 fans in attendance for Al-Akhdoud’s match against Al-Feiha and 532 for Al-Hazm’s victory over Al-Raed.
The highest attendance across the latest round of Saudi Pro League fixtures was at the King Abdullah Sports City, where Al-Ahli hosted Al-Wehda in front of 16,919 fans, just a handful more than the 16,875 who saw Cristiano Ronaldo score for Al-Nassr against Damac FC.
On Saturday, there were more supporters watching the match between Bradford City and Wrexham in England’s fourth tier (21,552), while two League One games drew over 17,000 fans.
There were more fans at the stadium for nine Championship games over the weekend, including 28,449 for Middlesbrough’s triumph over Birmingham.
The Saudi Pro League’s average attendance figures aren’t much better. Al-Ittihad, who have N’Golo Kante, Fabinho, and Karim Benzema among their ranks, had the biggest average crowd in the league, with 29,044 people attending their games.
The other three of the so-called ‘big-four’ state-backed sides follow, with Al-Hilal coming in second with 22,381 and Al-Nassr (20,615) and Al-Ahli (19,296) coming in third and fourth.
They are, however, the only four clubs that have averaged more than five digits this season. Every other team, including Gerrard and Henderson’s Al-Ettifaq, has fewer than 10,000 fans. Despite playing in a stadium with a capacity of 35,000, Al-Ettifaq’s average attendance is 7,021 – less than that of English fifth-tier team Chesterfield.
Abha (1,988) has the lowest average attendance of the 18 Saudi Pro League teams. Al-Riyadh follows closely behind with 2,139 visitors, while Al-Fayha (2,860) rounds out the bottom three. Bury, who play in England’s ninth division, currently have an average of 3,336 fans each match.
The biggest individual attendance was 59,600, who witnessed Al-Hilal draw 1-1 against Al-Fayha in their first home match of the season. Meanwhile, the lowest attendance is concerning, with only 133 people attending Al-Okhdood’s 1-0 victory over Al-Riyadh in early September.
Simply put, when there are no global superstars involved in a match, fans do not want to go, and even when there are interest swings.
Although attendance has increased by 24% since this time last year, it will not be as high as the Saudi Pro League had hoped following their infusion of world superstars.
The division, on the other hand, has landed some big-money TV deals to broadcast matches in 130 different areas, bringing in nearly four times the revenue as last season.
