Sport in Saudi Arabia

Sport in Saudi Arabia is an important part of Saudi Arabian culture and the country participates in many international sporting competitions along with multiple esport competitions. Football is a particularly popular sport and Saudi Arabia has won the Asian Cup on three occasions, while other sports such as cricket and basketball are also widely followed.

In December 2019, the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee approved the launch of five new sports federations each for hockey, lacrosse, rugby, baseball and softball, thus taking another step towards diversifying the country's sports landscape.^[1]

Football

King Fahd International Stadium

Football is the most popular sport in Saudi Arabia.^[2] In recent years, the sport has grown in popularity, and some Saudi players currently play in Europe. The Saudi Arabia national football team is governed by the Saudi Football Federation (SFF). The SFF organises the Saudi leagues, and the Saudi Arabian Cup. The Saudi national team has competed in six FIFA World Cup competitions, in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018 and most recently, in 2022. The Saudi team has also competed in seven AFC Asian Cup competitions, first in 1984. Achievements from the AFC Cup include being the Champions in 1984, 1988, and recently, in 1996. The current player of the year is Hussein Sulaimani,^[when?] who is the captain of Saudi Arabia football team. Saudi Arabia also regularly participate in the Arabian Gulf Cup, AFC Champions League, and Arab Nations Cup. The kingdom is set to host Supercopa de Espana for the first time. However, the response of international fans, especially from Spain, hasn't been too well, with only under 10% of the tickets been sold until now.^[3]

Motorsport

2004 F1H2O Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia, held in Sunset Beach ^[4]
2018 Race of Champions
2019 F1H2O Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia, the event was also scheduled for 2020 but it was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic^[5]
Diriyah ePrix
Dakar Rally (2020-
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

The race is held at the Riyadh Street Circuit in Diriyah, a town in Saudi Arabia located on the north-western outskirts of the capital, Riyadh. The track is 2.495 km (1.550 mi) in length and features 21 turns.

Diriyah ePrix

Edition		Track	Winner	Pole position	Fastest lap
2018		Riyadh Street Circuit	António Félix da Costa	António Félix da Costa	André Lotterer
2019	Race 1		Sam Bird	Alexander Sims	Mitch Evans
2019	Race 2		Alexander Sims	Alexander Sims	António Félix da Costa
2021	Race 1		Nyck de Vries	Nyck de Vries	Stoffel Vandoorne
2021	Race 2		Sam Bird	Robin Frijns	Nyck de Vries
2022	Race 1		Nyck de Vries	Stoffel Vandoorne	Nick Cassidy
2022	Race 2		Edoardo Mortara	Nyck de Vries	Sam Bird
2023	Race 1		Pascal Wehrlein	Sébastien Buemi	René Rast
2023	Race 2		Pascal Wehrlein	Jake Hughes	Sam Bird

In 2021, Formula One announced they were going to Saudi Arabia for the first time, with racing held in Jeddah across the Red Sea.

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Edition	Track	Winner	Pole position	Fastest lap
2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix	Jeddah Corniche Circuit	Lewis Hamilton	Lewis Hamilton	Lewis Hamilton
2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix		Max Verstappen	Sergio Pérez	Charles Leclerc
2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix		Sergio Pérez	Sergio Pérez	Max Verstappen

Cricket

Cricket is the second most popular sport in Saudi Arabia, largely due to the increasing number of South Asian expatriates who play the game during their spare time. However, during recent years cricket has generated interest among many Arab locals, such as Faique Habib and Nadim Al Nadwi, who have both represented Saudi Arabia at the national level. Currently there are over 8000 Saudi cricketers, with nearly 20 percent being local Arabs, and the majority of the rest coming from countries such as Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka.

There are many cricket associations Saudi Arabia, with Yanbu Al Sinaiyah Cricket Association being the largest. Each major city has its own organisation which holds its own domestic cup for each format.

Since 2010 Saudi Arabia has gained quite a lot of fame for its style of cricket, as it has won several regional tournaments on turf, even though back home players only play on concrete. Saudi Arabia's biggest win to date was in September 2016, where they beat a Namibian national side by 141 runs. 2 months later they also won their first major series which came in the form of a quadrangular series also involving Kenya, Uganda and Qatar.

Saudi Arabia's greatest cricketer is Shoaib Ali, who has contributed to major victories both home and away, and who has captained the nation since 2008. He is a bowling all rounder who made his debut against Thailand in the 2008 ACC Under-19 Challenge Cup.

Basketball

Basketball is also a popular sport in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Premier League has been home to several players who competed at the FIBA Asia Championship and has also attracted NBA players such as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf.

Besides "regular" basketball, 3x3 basketball has become increasingly popular.^[6]

Ice hockey

Ice hockey is also a minor sport but it has not been popular in Saudi Arabia; the first game occurred in 2010 during the Gulf Ice Hockey Championship.

Professional wrestling

Professional wrestling has been a recognizable minor sport in Saudi Arabia. The country has hosted one event by the U.S.-based promotion, WWE in Jeddah dubbed the Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27, 2018. The company will host a second event in Riyadh in fall of 2018 as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan.^[7]

WWE's programming (e.g. WWE Wal3ooha) airs throughout the country on OSN Sports Action 1 and has access to the WWE Network streaming service.

Rugby union

Rugby union in Saudi Arabia is a minor but growing sport, which has been played for several decades in the Kingdom. Many of the local rugby clubs date back to the late 1970s.

National teams

This is a list of Saudi Arabian national sports teams:

Sports journalism

Al Riyada was the first sports newspaper in Saudi Arabia founded by Muhammad Abdullah Malibari.

References

^ "Saudi Arabia Olympic Committee to unveil new strategy in 2020". Arab News. 29 December 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
^ "Sports And Recreation".
^ "Supercopa's Saudi Arabia adventure given short shrift by fans in Spain". The Guardian. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
^ "F1H2O UIM World Championship".
^ "F1H2O UIM World Championship: GRAND PRIX OF SAUDI ARABIA POSTPONED".
^ "Saudi Arabia has become a 3x3 success story". FIBA. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
^ "WWE to Hold Another Huge Show in Saudi Arabia in 2018". 30 April 2018.