Saudi Arabia’s grand football project may have lost some of its lustre, but it is far from over. The Saudi Pro League transfer market is now increasingly focused on younger players with room to develop, an inevitable shift after the wave of heavy spending that began in the summer of 2023. Even so, the most recent window was hardly short on big names. Al-Hilal signed Gabriel Martinelli, Summerville and Watkins; Al-Qadsiah brought in Reijnders; Al-Ahli landed Trincão. They may not be Neymar, Benzema, Koulibaly or Milinković-Savić, but these are still significant signings for a league of a decent standard, and one with considerable financial pulling power.
And yet the Saudi public remains distinctly underwhelmed. If anything, enthusiasm in the stands is in short supply. The attendance figures make for increasingly uncomfortable reading, even against the modest benchmarks set by previous seasons. After 12 rounds of the 2026/27 campaign, only four of the league’s 18 stadiums are averaging crowds above half their capacity: Al-Awwal Park, home of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr; Al-Taawoun Club Stadium; Kingdom Arena, where Al-Hilal play; and Al-Fateh Club Stadium. Elsewhere, the numbers are considerably less encouraging. Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, home of Al-Qadsiah, is running at 40 per cent capacity, while King Abdullah Sports City, shared by Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad, is down to just 15.6 per cent. Across the Saudi Pro League, average attendance stands at just 34.5 per cent of stadium capacity.
Regional political instability may have played a part, but this season’s decline is part of a longer trend. Stadium occupancy was 43 per cent in 2025/26, down from 47 per cent in 2024/25 and 49.4 per cent in 2023/24. In 2022/23, it had reached 60.2 per cent. The transfer-market extravagance, then, has done little to bring supporters through the turnstiles. If anything, the opposite appears to have happened. The more the league has spent, the fewer people seem inclined to watch.
For anyone unconvinced by the figures, available on Transfermarkt, there is also the testimony of a player who has made the move from Europe. Nathan Zézé, the 21-year-old French defender who joined NEOM from Nantes, recently described the atmosphere at Saudi grounds: “There are stadiums where you don’t really feel much atmosphere, because there aren’t many people in the stands. When you play against the big teams, though, the fans are there.” The trouble is, there simply aren’t that many of them. Fewer than ever. Even in a league with money to spend and no shortage of good players.