Pitch perfect
A musical guide to the Saudi Pro League
The Saudi Pro League has been scoring goals long before it kicked off last month.
The arrival of star names recruited to the football competition, including Brazil's Neymar and France's Karim Benzema, resulted in widespread global awareness and international fans tuning in to watch the big matches.
Roy Cooper / The National
Roy Cooper / The National
That action can also be heard off the pitch with major clubs recruiting Saudi and regional pop stars as well as folk singers to record official anthems.
Some artists even took it upon themselves to release solo songs in support of their favourite clubs.
Below are songs, official and solo releases, celebrating all 18 sides competing in the Saudi Pro League this season.
Founded in 1966 and named after the south-western Saudi city, Abha has yet to win a major trophy.
Despite the lack of silverware, the plucky side is defined by its grit and determination.
Both values are espoused in the club's latest anthem Abhawi.
A version was released by singer and television presenter Khalid Hamid in 2019.
The song is a rallying cry for the players to give it their best "until the very end", because that's what it means to be an "Abhawy".
Jeddah's Al Ahli has a brief song reflecting its status as one of the league's big four clubs.
Simply titled "The official anthem of Al Ahli Football Club" and penned by official honorary member and poet Khaled Al Matrafi, the anthem has been sung by fans for more than a decade at King Abdullah Sports City stadium.
The club was founded in 1937 and its anthem lyrics remind fans of Al Ahli's prestige (“what a castle of glory”) and how its success will endure: "and through time we will go together".
It helps to have one of the Arabian Gulf's biggest singers as a fan.
Popular Saudi-Bahraini singer Rashed Al Majed reportedly wrote and sang Al Ettifaq a song as a gift to the Dammam side in 2008. It went on to become a de facto club anthem.
Loosely translated as “Al Ettifaq, entertain me”, the track is not a huge side-step for Al Majed.
Amid the buoyant strings are fan-friendly lyrics celebrating the side’s heritage and a football prowess that “is simply beyond imagination”.
While traditionally viewed as minnows on the field, the club from Al Ahsa, a governorate in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, punches above its weight in the anthem stakes.
In 2013, revered Saudi singer Rabeh Saqr released two tributes to his local side, Al Fateh, with Yali Galabt Tawla emerging as the best pick.
Loosely translated as “Oh how I wished to turn the tables,” this exuberant track – full of traditional percussion and the reed wind instrument mizmar – pays tribute to the “mighty club who upon striking, is painful”.
In 2021, Al Fahya – located in Al Majma'ah city more than 200km from the capital Riyadh – enlisted Saudi singer Ayed to write and sing their official theme song.
The club were surprise league winners back in 2017. Fowq Fowq Faihawi tells of their prowess on the pitch.
Midfield players are described as "beautiful rain to witness", while attackers are "sharp as falcons".
When Al Hazem were promoted to the Saudi Pro League in May this year, Saudi singer Mohammed Al Qurashi released a song in celebration.
Titled Al Hazm boys are never discouraged, the intriguing track hinted at the difficulties the team – based about 350km from Riyadh – could face when competing against the kingdom's biggest clubs.
Where anthems of counterparts often espouse the side's abilities, Al Hazm boys are never discouraged ‘s message is about the need for resolve and resilience, qualities that Al Hazem will certainly need to stay in the top flight.
Translated as "Welcome oh Hilal" and performed by renowned Saudi ensemble Choral Al Sharqiyah, the Riyadh side's new theme song implores the team to dominate the pitch.
"Come on our hero, our chief," the song begins. "Come on our hero of this time ... whoever bets against you will lose."
Al Hilal translates to "the crescent" from Arabic. Its anthem's lyrics also search the stars for inspiration, comparing the experience of watching the team play with a "love of the universe".
In the lead-up to the start of the 2023 season, Al Ittihad enlisted arguably Saudi Arabia's biggest-selling music act, Mohamed Abdu, to sing the club's new theme song Ana Al Ittihad.
Meaning “I am Al Ittihad”, the dramatic song reminds fans of the Jeddah club’s might and enduring success.
Or as Abdu emphatically states: “There is no one like them.”
Al Khaleej were fortunate to escape relegation last year.
Then again, the Dammam club's official anthem has the ability to galvanise in the most challenging circumstances.
"We came crawling oh Khaleej, despite the thorns on the road," it begins.
“A fire ignited in my heart and the memories echoed. We arrive with hearts full of desire, we only love you."
With the storied Riyadh club having won nine league championships and making world headlines after signing Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo last year, Al Nassr's history of success has been soundtracked by plenty of artists.
One of the latest to pen and perform a song in tribute is Abw Husam with Al Nassr Cristiano Ronaldo.
Released in January and performed in the sheilat style – a burgeoning Saudi genre blending traditional folk melodies with electronic music elements – the song is a love letter to Ronaldo and supporters.
The lyrics match the propulsive production with Husam praising Ronaldo’s flair ("we make our opponents tired") and the club’s fervent fanbase "who bask in the club's glory".
Located in Najran in the southern region of Saudi Arabia, near the border with Yemen, Al Okhdood made their Saudi Pro League debut this season.
Abdullah Alkhater's Al Okhdood Club promises the group will make their impression on the league.
"Al Okhdood Club, better get out of their way, we are proud of this club and this is the truth," he sings before warning the competition to "prepare the gold cup", for the boys in blue.
Based in Buraidah, a city in north-central Saudi Arabia, Al Raed is a modest and proud club dating back to 1954.
Its anthem was recorded as a nasheed, an austere musical form featuring a capella vocals and minimal instrumentation, Hob Al Raed (Love Al Raed) is by Hamoud Al Faheed. The song underlines the deep relationship between the club and its fans.
It's a bond so strong Al Faheed wonders how he could support any other side when the club's jersey "is the colour of my blood".
Promoted to the Saudi Pro League this year, Al Riyadh – named after the Saudi capital – released an official new anthem in March.
It is arguably the best of the bunch with its almost flamenco-like guitar intro and use of mass chanting.
The male vocalist implores Al Riyadh to not only enjoy playing in the kingdom’s top competition, but to understand they deserve to be there.
“Al Riyadh club is a big club and our place is at the forefront,” the song begins before describing the side’s as a footballing “institution” for its flair and creativity.
The Riyadh side has a history of success with six championships to its name.
This means plenty of songs celebrating those achievements by some of the kingdom's biggest stars. One of which is the aforementioned Rashed Al Majed, a Saudi-Bahraini singer, who also sang an ode to Al Ettifaq.
That said, Al Majed is dedicated to the cause with Al Laith Khaled highlighting Al Shabab's footballing qualities. He compares the team's attacking playing style to an "art that upsets [the opposition] and pleases us" and sings about their "steadfast defence" and goalkeeper who "is wonderful and glorious".
Also from Buraidah, the relative minnows have a charging anthem with lyrics that channel the emotions felt by supporters in the stands.
Performed by Saudi singer Fahad Ibrahim and titled “the unbeatable wolf”, the track's sentiments are uncompromising with lyrics calling on opponents to be sent to be "burnt" by Al Taawoun's prowess on the pitch.
The team are compared to a rampaging “wolf with strong claws” and are said to "excel at tiki taka," a possession-based footballing style made famous by Spanish super club Barcelona.
Al Tai's anthem, by rising Saudi folk singer Abdulaziz Alolaiwi, celebrates the side's heritage and its home city of Hail.
With a title roughly translated to the "knight from north of the kingdom", the song is full of flowery prose. The lyrics compare the resilience of Al Tai players with "a wolf unafraid of gunfire and who takes his dinner and morsel from his rival".
The club is also described as a "house high on the hill and which has great value in our hearts”.
When the Makkah club won the second division in 2018, it celebrated in style by enlisting Saudi star Mohammed Abdu to record their official anthem.
Titled "Oh Wehda, we miss you, by God we miss you", the song explains the clubs links to its home city of "beautiful Makkah and whose people are its players”.
Released in 2021 by sheilat artist Saeed bin Ward, this unofficial track is a go-to for fans of the club, based in the south-west near Abha.
In many ways the track is a reflection of the mid-table side with its non-flashy arrangements and straightforward lyrics: "Rise to the top, with pride and effort and achieve your dreams."
Words Saeed Saeed
Editor Juman Jarallah
Photo Editor Charlotte Mayhew
Photos Saudi Pro League, EPA, Getty Images, and AFP
Design Nick Donaldson
Sub Editor Nigel Walsh
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