https://www.scmp.com/rss/522511/feed The latest news and top stories on Al-Ahli. A prominent Jeddah-based professional football club, Al-Ahli Saudi Football Club is dedicated to competing in national and international football competitions. Its main areas of focus include professional sports, talent development and achieving local and global success. Founded in 1937, Al-Ahli is recognised as one of Saudi Arabia’s most successful clubs, having won numerous domestic titles including the Saudi Professional League and King’s Cup,... 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 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 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 Tom Bell,Lars Hamer,Paul McNamara Tom Bell,Lars Hamer,Paul McNamara Football fans were granted most of their wishes at Hong Kong Stadium on Saturday as the Saudi Super Cup concluded with a goal from Cristiano Ronaldo, even if the Portuguese was narrowly denied the silverware. Ronaldo’s club Al-Nassr may have been beaten by Al-Ahli in a deciding penalty shoot-out, but the plaudits were largely for the man wearing No 7, the organisers’ star asset as they brought the tournament to East Asia for the first time. A crowd of about 30,000 cheered Ronaldo’s every... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3322945/ronaldo-wows-hong-kong-saudi-super-cup-given-very-satisfactory-verdict?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3322945/ronaldo-wows-hong-kong-saudi-super-cup-given-very-satisfactory-verdict?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Aug 2025 16:13:55 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer Thousands of fans descended on Hong Kong Stadium to watch Cristiano Ronaldo play in the final of the Saudi Super Cup on Saturday. Even if the supercharged atmosphere that followed the footballing superstar to the arena earlier this week was somewhat reduced for the final, hundreds of fans had already arrived at the stadium in Causeway Bay two hours before Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr kicked off against Al-Ahli. And while the black clouds that prompted the No 1 typhoon signal threatened to put a dampener... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3322932/saudi-super-cup-ronaldo-mania-more-subdued-fans-return-hong-kong-final?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3322932/saudi-super-cup-ronaldo-mania-more-subdued-fans-return-hong-kong-final?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Aug 2025 12:43:07 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer For football fans who travelled from the Middle East to watch this week’s Saudi Super Cup in Hong Kong, it was about much more than star individuals such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. Whereas most of the Chinese spectators the Post spoke to were attending purely to see Al-Nassr captain Ronaldo, and to a lesser extent Al-Ittihad skipper Benzema, the Saudi fans saw it as an opportunity to support their teams at a competitive tournament. All four clubs attracted fan groups to the city... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3322927/riyadh-hong-kong-saudi-super-cup-fans-make-presence-felt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3322927/riyadh-hong-kong-saudi-super-cup-fans-make-presence-felt?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Aug 2025 11:30:58 +0000 Paul McNamara Paul McNamara Ivan Toney has blasted the “crazy treatment” of his Al-Ahli team at the Saudi Super Cup in Hong Kong. England striker Toney was on the scoresheet when Al-Ahli thumped Al-Qadsiah 5-1 on Wednesday to book a Saturday night final date with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr. Late replacements for Al-Hilal, who withdrew from the competition following their involvement in the summer Club World Cup, Al-Ahli arrived in Hong Kong on Sunday. “To be honest, the preparation and how we’ve been treated has been... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3322868/ivan-toney-blasts-crazy-treatment-al-ahli-saudi-super-cup-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3322868/ivan-toney-blasts-crazy-treatment-al-ahli-saudi-super-cup-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Aug 2025 12:30:21 +0000 Paul McNamara Paul McNamara Jorge Jesus has tipped Al-Nassr to surf the wave of energy generated by superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in their Saudi Super Cup final against Al-Ahli on Saturday. Ronaldo fever swept Hong Kong Stadium on Tuesday, as head coach Jesus’s team overcame the first-half dismissal of Sadio Mane to beat Al-Ittihad 2-1 in their semi-final. And Jesus was anticipating another animated and one-sided crowd when his side tackle the reigning Asian champions back at the same venue this weekend. “I am expecting the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3322844/al-nassr-boss-tips-cristiano-ronaldo-fever-return-hong-kong-stadium-saudi-final?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3322844/al-nassr-boss-tips-cristiano-ronaldo-fever-return-hong-kong-stadium-saudi-final?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Aug 2025 10:31:51 +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 Paul McNamara Paul McNamara Michel, the decorated Al-Qadsiah head coach, has accused Saudi football’s detractors of ignorance ahead of his team’s Saudi Super Cup semi-final against Al-Ahli in Hong Kong on Wednesday. The Spaniard, who won six La Liga titles as an exceptional midfielder for Real Madrid, said people in his homeland “only discuss football in Saudi Arabia from a financial perspective”. Despite spending more than US$80 million following promotion to the top flight last season, and forking out around US$76... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3322367/saudi-footballs-critics-accused-fixating-money-ahead-super-cup-semi-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3322367/saudi-footballs-critics-accused-fixating-money-ahead-super-cup-semi-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Aug 2025 00:00:08 +0000 Paul McNamara Paul McNamara Cristiano Ronaldo extended his Hong Kong adventure on Tuesday, creating the winning goal for 10-man Al-Nassr to beat Al-Ittihad 2-1 on a night of high drama at Hong Kong Stadium. With the teams level, and Al-Nassr reduced by the 25th-minute dismissal of Sadio Mane, Ronaldo galloped onto a ball from Nawaf Boushal in the 61st minute and unselfishly presented Joao Felix with the easiest of debut goals. When an original decision to disallow the strike for offside against Ronaldo was overturned, he... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3322419/saudi-super-cup-cristiano-ronaldo-creates-winner-al-nassr-beat-al-ittihad-semi-final?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3322419/saudi-super-cup-cristiano-ronaldo-creates-winner-al-nassr-beat-al-ittihad-semi-final?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Aug 2025 14:26:18 +0000 SCMP Sport SCMP Sport Hong Kong is this week playing host to the Saudi Super Cup, which is why Cristiano Ronaldo is in town. The tournament has been running annually since 2013 but this is the third edition of its four-team format. It brings together the winners and runners-up from the Saudi Pro League and the country’s King's Cup in a mini-tournament, comprising two semi-finals and a final at Hong Kong Stadium. Hong Kong is its third overseas host city after London – three times – and Abu Dhabi. Al-Nassr will play... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3322374/saudi-super-cup-cristiano-ronaldos-hong-kong-who-else-coming?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3322374/saudi-super-cup-cristiano-ronaldos-hong-kong-who-else-coming?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Aug 2025 08:47:58 +0000 Mike Chan,Paul McNamara,Lars Hamer Mike Chan,Paul McNamara,Lars Hamer Al-Ahli, the last of the Saudi Super Cup teams landed in Hong Kong on Sunday and will stay at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Wan Chai, where they were greeted by over 50 fans. The fans, mostly men between the ages of 20 and 40, had come to catch a glimpse of former Premier League footballers Riyad Mahrez, Ivan Toney and Edouard Mendy. John Kulpakdeesinghworn, 41, travelled to Hong Kong from Thailand to see former Leicester City winger Mahrez. The country has a strong Leicester following, as the club... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3322117/cristiano-ronaldo-al-nassr-head-early-sunday-training-session?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3322117/cristiano-ronaldo-al-nassr-head-early-sunday-training-session?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Aug 2025 04:06:54 +0000