August 21 – The Roshn Saudi League 2024-25 season kicks off tomorrow with a number of new big-name faces and a series of new league rules designed to protect the development of Saudi qualified players.
The current summer transfer window has not seen the high profile influx of big name players from European clubs that was seen last year.
Even so, former Real Madrid captain Nacho, and former Premier League Golden Boot winner Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang lead the list of high profile arrivals, alongside Houssem Aouar, Moussa Diaby and Predrag Rajkovic.
On the touchline French legend and World Cup winner Laurent Blanc takes over at Al Ittihad from Marcelo Gallardo and will be expected to deliver the club much higher up the league, driven by French stars Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kantebut supported by a long list of young Saudi stars including Talal Haji, Saad Al Mousa and Faisal Al Ghamdi.
The league has changed registration rules for the coming season. Squad sizes have been reduced from 30 to 25 players, while teams can only register a maximum of 10 non-Saudi players, an increase from eight last year.
This season matchday squads of 20 must include a minimum of 11 Saudi players.
The triple rule change is designed not just to protect home-grown players but to ensure they are given playing time to develop alongside the big-name imports. It has also had the effect of dampening Saudi club activity in the international transfer markets.
This will very much be a season of consolidation for Saudi football where a focus on star profile will turn to a more intense spotlight on performance and club brand-building in what looks like a very competitive 18-team top tier.
It is also a big year for the country with FIFA expected to award the hosting of the 2034 World Cup.
In 2027 Saudi Arabia will host the 2027 Asian Cup and its football infrastructure is developing at a fast pace.
The 2023-24 season saw eight RSL clubs move to new stadiums courtesy of the Saudi Ministry of Sport increased support of a big vision infrastructure programme. All of the above has resulted in an increase in global attention as the league’s footprint grew by 30% to reach 160 countries across 38 platforms.
The league’s ambition it to be a leader globally, in many respects that starts with the product on the pitch, but without structure the football product will go unnoticed. This next season is a key one for both.
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