https://www.scmp.com/rss/522246/feed The latest news and top stories on Al-Hilal. A prominent Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based professional multi-sports club, Al-Hilal is dedicated to achieving footballing excellence and dominating competitions. Its main areas of focus include participating in the Saudi Pro League, AFC Champions League, and FIFA Club World Cup. Founded in 1957, Al-Hilal is recognised as the most successful club in Saudi Arabia and Asia, holding a record 19 domestic league titles and eight Asian Football Confederation... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Associated Press Associated Press Iranian club Tractor FC are set to travel to Saudi Arabia for a play-off against Shabab Al-Ahli of Dubai for a place in the Asian Champions League Elite quarter-finals against Buriram United of Thailand. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) held the draw on Wednesday to determine the quarter-final pairings, a day after announcing that the western zone play-offs that were postponed because of the war in the Middle East had been rescheduled for April 13-14 in Jeddah. The Saudi city is also... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3347896/asian-champions-league-elite-irans-tractor-fc-line-quarter-final-saudi-arabia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3347896/asian-champions-league-elite-irans-tractor-fc-line-quarter-final-saudi-arabia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:52 +0000 Associated Press,Reuters Associated Press,Reuters Cristiano Ronaldo missed his third consecutive game for Al-Nassr as the Saudi Arabian club defeated Arkadag FC of Turkmenistan 1-0 on Wednesday in the first leg of the round of 16 in the AFC Champions League Two, but will reportedly return to the field this weekend. Abdullah Al-Hamdan scored the only goal of the game in Asia’s second-tier competition to put Al-Nassr in control ahead of next week’s return match in Riyadh. Ronaldo – who has yet to win a major trophy since joining Al-Nassr in... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3343283/ronaldo-missing-saudi-club-al-nassr-wins-asian-champions-league-2-set-return?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3343283/ronaldo-missing-saudi-club-al-nassr-wins-asian-champions-league-2-set-return?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Feb 2026 09:00:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters Saudi Pro League (SPL) champions Al-Ittihad will look to push their domestic difficulties and the exodus of key players to one side to assert themselves in the Asian Champion League Elite when Sergio Conceicao’s team take on Qatar’s Al-Gharafa on Tuesday. The Jeddah-based outfit have been less than convincing since claiming the SPL title last season, sitting in seventh in the domestic standings and currently attempting to regroup after the departures of Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kanté. The... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3342818/pressure-builds-saudi-champs-al-ittihad-hunt-asian-champions-league-spots-resumes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3342818/pressure-builds-saudi-champs-al-ittihad-hunt-asian-champions-league-spots-resumes?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 01:00:35 +0000 SCMP Sport SCMP Sport Reigning Asian Player of the Year Akram Afif has been included on the three-man shortlist for the Asian Football Confederation’s 2025 award, alongside Saudi Arabia’s Salem Al-Dawsari and Arif Aiman of Malaysia. Afif, who also won in 2019, would become the first three-time winner of the title should he lift the trophy at a gala ceremony in Riyadh on October 16. Australian Holly McNamara, Wang Shuang from China and Japanese defender Hana Takahashi have been nominated for the women’s award. Paris... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3327010/asian-player-year-qatars-akram-afif-nominated-record-third-award?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3327010/asian-player-year-qatars-akram-afif-nominated-record-third-award?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Sep 2025 11:30:07 +0000 Reuters Reuters Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli will begin the defence of their Asian Champions League Elite title against Uzbekistan’s Nasaf in a buoyant mood on Monday, boosted by Matthias Jaissle’s recent decision to extend his contract with the club. The German coach will lead his team into their opening clash of the new campaign in Jeddah, with the ink having only recently dried on a deal that extends his stay by another two seasons after first arriving in the country in 2023. “It was an historical moment to... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3325503/asian-champions-league-al-ahli-confident-mood-ahead-title-defence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3325503/asian-champions-league-al-ahli-confident-mood-ahead-title-defence?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Sep 2025 02:00:12 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Former English Premier League stars could make the difference in the Asian Champions League, which begins on Monday, with Ivan Toney, Jesse Lingard, Riyad Mahrez and Darwin Nunez all having a chance of winning Asian football’s premier club tournament. Saudi clubs dominated last season, providing three of the semi-finalists before Al-Ahli won the final in front of 60,000 spectators in Jeddah in May. Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal are also back and expected to challenge again for the title. Since the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3325379/asian-champions-league-ex-english-premier-league-players-set-star-new-season-starts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3325379/asian-champions-league-ex-english-premier-league-players-set-star-new-season-starts?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Sep 2025 13:00:20 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer Scenes outside Hong Kong Stadium on Wednesday could not have been any more different to just 24 hours earlier, when football megastar Cristiano Ronaldo pulled 30,000 fans from across the world to the venue in Causeway Bay. What a difference a day makes. Walking towards the stadium two hours before Wednesday’s 8pm kick-off, you could easily be forgiven for not knowing there was a match going to take place. Al-Qadsiah were playing Al-Ahli Saudi in the second semi-final of the Saudi Super Cup, by... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3322555/saudi-super-cup-post-ronaldo-slump-hits-second-semi-final-fans-mix-business-pleasure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3322555/saudi-super-cup-post-ronaldo-slump-hits-second-semi-final-fans-mix-business-pleasure?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Aug 2025 13:09:36 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer Thousands of football fans descended on Hong Kong Stadium hours before Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr took on Al-Ittihad in the first semi-final of the Saudi Super Cup on Tuesday. All roads leading to the stadium were a sea of jerseys sporting Ronaldo’s name on the back, as thousands from Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China and Saudi Arabia made their way to the ground. There was even one spectator wearing a shirt that combined Al-Nassr, Real Madrid and Manchester United colours and badges, all teams... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3322401/saudi-super-cup-ronaldo-fever-strikes-again-fans-flock-stadium-hours-kick?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3322401/saudi-super-cup-ronaldo-fever-strikes-again-fans-flock-stadium-hours-kick?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Aug 2025 11:39:09 +0000 Lars Hamer,Paul McNamara Lars Hamer,Paul McNamara Football clubs in Hong Kong have called for better communication from the city’s governing body after it cancelled bookings of facilities to hand them over to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr and their rival Saudi Super Cup teams. Recreational groups and Premier League clubs received messages at late notice stating that pitches were to be taken off them so that the Football Association of Hong Kong, China (HKFA) could block-book them for the four visiting Saudi sides. Premier League club Eastern... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3322323/hong-kong-footballers-say-pitch-bookings-were-cancelled-ronaldos-team-use?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3322323/hong-kong-footballers-say-pitch-bookings-were-cancelled-ronaldos-team-use?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Aug 2025 04:58:09 +0000 Paul McNamara Paul McNamara Cristiano Ronaldo and his Al-Nassr teammates on Saturday accelerated preparations for their Saudi Super Cup campaign in Hong Kong by holding a training session at the city’s Football Training Centre. Footage obtained by the Post showed Portuguese attacker Ronaldo and his colleagues being put through their paces on Saturday morning on sun-drenched pitches in Tseung Kwan O, at the centre owned by the Football Association of Hong Kong, China. Al-Nassr posted videos on their social media accounts of... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3322083/cristiano-ronaldo-al-nassr-prepare-hong-kongs-football-training-centre?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3322083/cristiano-ronaldo-al-nassr-prepare-hong-kongs-football-training-centre?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Aug 2025 05:40:44 +0000 SCMP Sport SCMP Sport Al-Hilal have confirmed their “first football team” would not play in next month’s Saudi Super Cup, saying they were told only a month ago, when they were already in the US competing in the Club World Cup, that the event would be in Hong Kong. In a statement posted on the club’s website on Monday, Al-Hilal said they had written to the Saudi Arabian Football Federation to explain their decision, and emphasised the “exceptional circumstances” behind the move. The Riyadh-based club, who have won... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3318977/al-hilal-say-first-team-will-not-play-hong-kongs-saudi-super-cup-because-fatigue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3318977/al-hilal-say-first-team-will-not-play-hong-kongs-saudi-super-cup-because-fatigue?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Jul 2025 06:24:45 +0000