Relegated for the first time in 2022, Al-Ahli were Asian champions three years later
Students at a Jeddah school founded Al-Ahli in 1937. It became one of Saudi Arabia's great clubs, once hosting Maradona in its shirt and holding a 51-match unbeaten league run. Then, in 2022, it went down for the first time ever. The comeback ended with back-to-back continental crowns.
The idea for the club came from pupils at Al-Falah School who wanted a team to represent their city. Al-Ahli made its name in the regional competitions of the Western Province before any national league existed, and claimed its first major trophy, the Crown Prince Cup, in 1956–57. It became known for technical football and a focus on youth players. With the Brazilian coach Didi in charge, it won the 1978 league and King Cup together, the first Saudi club to take both in one season.
Brazilian links ran deep. Telê Santana coached the team from 1983 to 1985, adding a league title and a King Cup. For the club's fiftieth anniversary in 1987, Diego Maradona pulled on an Al-Ahli shirt for a celebration match in Jeddah, and in 1989 Brazil's national side visited and won a friendly 3–1.
The 1990s and 2000s brought runner-up finishes and cup success, plus Gulf and Arab club honours abroad, but the league stayed out of reach until 2015–16. Under the Swiss coach Christian Gross, Al-Ahli clinched that title with two rounds to spare after beating Al-Hilal 3–1, then added the King Cup and a Super Cup played at Fulham's Craven Cottage for a treble. During this period it also compiled that record 51-game unbeaten league streak.
Al-Ahli helped found the top division alongside Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr, and had never dropped down until 2021–22, and it won the second tier at the first attempt. On 3 May 2025 it beat Kawasaki Frontale 2–0 in Jeddah, with goals from Galeno and Franck Kessie both set up by Roberto Firmino, to win the Champions League Elite for the first time. A year later Firas Al-Buraikan's extra-time winner against Machida Zelvia retained it. Home is King Abdullah Sports City, shared with rivals Al-Ittihad, holding about 63,000.
Source: Al-Ahli Saudi FC
