The Saudi Pro League reached a new low in their attendance numbers over the weekend, as a clash between Al Fayha and Al Riyadh saw a paltry sum of 390 supporters attend the match on Sunday. Although the Pro League has shot into global consciousness due to the attraction of several football superstars led by Cristiano Ronaldo , Neymar Jr , and Karim Benzema , the support at home continues to be a work in progress. The 390 supporters could barely fill out one stand at the King Salman Sport City Stadium in Al Majma’ah to witness the hosts beat Al Riyadh by a score of 2-0.
Although Al Fayha’s stadium is one of the smaller ones in the league, with a capacity of 7,000, the failure to put up a strong average attendance number will be concerning to not only the team but also the organisers of the league as a whole. Al Fahya is the new home of former Manchester United and AS Roma defender Chris Smalling, as well as former Rangers winger Fashion Sakala, who was on the scoresheet in this match. The King Salman Stadium averaged only 2301 supporters in the 23/24 season as per Transfermarkt, well under the halfway mark, with the relative lack of star names not explaining such a gulf in these numbers.
Across the board, the Saudi Pro League has struggled to fill out the numbers in its stands. The largest club stadium in Saudi Arabia is the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium in Jeddah, with a capacity of 62,000, shared by Al Ahli and Al Ettihad. Nevertheless, both teams struggled to put up .