| Season | 2011–2012 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 9 September 2011 – 18 April 2012 |
| Champions | Al-Shabab (6th title) |
| Relegated | Al-Qadsiah Al-Ansar |
| AFC Champions League | Al-Shabab Al-Ahli Al-Hilal Al-Ettifaq |
| UAFA Club Cup | Al-Fateh Al-Nassr |
| GCC Champions League | Al-Faisaly Najran |
| Matches | 182 |
| Goals | 537 (2.95 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Victor Simões Nasser Al-Shamrani (21 goals each) |
| Biggest home win | Al-Ittihad 7–0Hajer (16 December 2011) |
| Biggest away win | Al-Qadsiah 0–8Al-Ittihad (2 November 2011) |
| Highest scoring | Al-Qadsiah 4–5Al-Hilal (20 October 2011) |
| Longest winning run | 9 games[1] Al-Hilal |
| Longest unbeaten run | 26 games[1] Al-Shabab |
| Longest winless run | 18 games[1] Al-Ansar |
| Longest losing run | 17 games[1] Al-Ansar |
| Highest attendance | 22,996[2] Al-Hilal 4–0Al-Ahli (29 September 2011) |
| Lowest attendance | 28[3] Al-Qadsiah 2–2Al-Faisaly (30 November 2011) |
| Average attendance | 4,374 |
2012–13 → | |
The2011–12 Saudi Professional League (known as theZain Professional League for sponsorship reasons) was the 36th season of theSaudi Professional League, the top Saudi professional league forassociation football clubs, since its establishment in1976. The season began on 9 September 2011, and ended on 18 April 2012.[4]Al-Hilal were thedefending champions.[5] The league was contested by the 12 teams from the2010–11 season as well asAl-Ansar andHajer, who joined as the promoted clubs from the2010–11 First Division. They replaceAl-Hazem andAl-Wehda who were relegated to the2011–12 First Division.
On 14 April,Al-Shabab won their sixth league title on the final matchday after a 1–1 draw away to runners-upAl-Ahli.[6] Al-Shabab ended the season without a single defeat becoming the second team to ever do so in a 26-game league season and the third team overall.
Al-Ansar were the first team to be relegated following a 1–0 home defeat againstAl-Raed on 31 March.[7]Al-Qadsiah became the second and final team to be relegated following a 3–2 defeat away toAl-Nassr on 13 April.[8]
Fourteen teams competed in the league – the twelve teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from theFirst Division. The promoted teams wereAl-Ansar (returning after an absence of six years) andHajer (returning after an absence of twelve years). They replacedAl-Hazem (ending their six-year top-flight spell) andAl-Wehda (ending their eight-year top-flight spell).
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ahli | Jeddah | Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium | 25,000[9] |
| Al-Ansar | Medina | Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz Stadium | 24,000[10] |
| Al-Ettifaq | Dammam | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium | 21,701[11] |
| Al-Faisaly | Harmah | Prince Salman Sport City Stadium | 5,200[12] |
| Al-Fateh | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium | 19,096[13] |
| Al-Hilal | Riyadh | King Fahd International Stadium Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium | 62,685[14] 22,500[15] |
| Al-Ittihad | Jeddah | Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium | 25,000[9] |
| Al-Nassr | Riyadh | King Fahd International Stadium Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium | 62,685[14] 22,500[15] |
| Al-Qadsiah | Khobar | Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium | 11,000[16] |
| Al-Raed | Buraidah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium | 23,600[17] |
| Al-Shabab | Riyadh | King Fahd International Stadium Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium | 62,685[14] 22,500[15] |
| Al-Taawoun | Buraidah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium | 23,600[17] |
| Hajer | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium | 19,096[13] |
| Najran | Najran | Al Akhdoud Club Stadium | 3,200[18] |
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ahli | Adidas | STC | ||
| Al-Ansar | Adidas | |||
| Al-Ettifaq | Hattrick | |||
| Al-Faisaly | Hattrick | |||
| Al-Fateh | Lotto | Fuchsia1 | ||
| Al-Hilal | Adidas | Mobily | ||
| Al-Ittihad | Nike | STC | ||
| Al-Nassr | Nike | STC | ||
| Al-Qadsiah | Hattrick | |||
| Al-Raed | Hattrick | Al-Remeikhany | ||
| Al-Shabab | Adidas | STC | ||
| Al-Taawoun | Jako | |||
| Hajer | Hattrick | Al-Ghadeer | ||
| Najran | Hattrick |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ansar | End of contract | 18 May 2011[19] | Pre-season | 30 May 2011[20] | ||
| Al-Nassr | Sacked | 26 May 2011[21] | 26 May 2011[21] | |||
| Al-Qadsiah | End of contract | 1 June 2011 | 12 June 2011[22] | |||
| Hajer | 1 June 2011 | 27 June 2011[23] | ||||
| Najran | 1 June 2011 | 1 July 2011[24] | ||||
| Al-Shabab | 12 June 2011 | 14 June 2011[25] | ||||
| Al-Hilal | Sacked | 18 June 2011[26] | 20 July 2011[27] | |||
| Al-Ahli | End of contract | 30 June 2011 | 5 August 2011[28] | |||
| Al-Ettifaq | 30 June 2011 | 22 July 2011[29] | ||||
| Al-Nassr | End of caretaker period | 30 June 2011 | 18 July 2011[30] | |||
| Al-Raed | Sacked | 17 October 2011[31] | 13th | 17 October 2011[31] | ||
| Al-Ansar | 26 October 2011[32] | 14th | 26 October 2011[32] | |||
| Al-Raed | End of caretaker period | 28 October 2011 | 13th | 28 October 2011[33] | ||
| Al-Ansar | 10 November 2011 | 14th | 10 November 2011[34] | |||
| Al-Ittihad | Sacked | 28 November 2011[35] | 5th | 28 November 2011[35] | ||
| Al-Nassr | 30 November 2011[36] | 6th | 30 November 2011[36] | |||
| Al-Nassr | End of caretaker period | 4 December 2011 | 6th | 4 December 2011[37] | ||
| Al-Ittihad | 16 December 2011 | 6th | 16 December 2011[38] | |||
| Al-Taawoun | Resigned | 29 December 2011[39] | 13th | 30 December 2011[39] | ||
| Al-Taawoun | Sacked | 20 January 2012[40] | 12th | 20 January 2012[40] | ||
| Al-Hilal | 22 January 2012[41] | 4th | 22 January 2012[42] | |||
| Al-Ittihad | 8 February 2012[43] | 6th | 8 February 2012[43] | |||
| Al-Ittihad | End of caretaker period | 27 February 2012 | 7th | 27 February 2012[44] | ||
| Al-Taawoun | Sacked | 2 April 2012[45] | 12th | 2 April 2012[45] |
The number of foreign players is restricted to four per team, including a slot for a player fromAFC countries.[46]
Players name inbold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Shabab(C) | 26 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 50 | 16 | +34 | 64 | Qualification for theAFC Champions League group stage[a] |
| 2 | Al-Ahli | 26 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 60 | 22 | +38 | 62 | |
| 3 | Al-Hilal | 26 | 18 | 6 | 2 | 58 | 22 | +36 | 60 | |
| 4 | Al-Ettifaq | 26 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 41 | 26 | +15 | 47 | |
| 5 | Al-Ittihad | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 49 | 35 | +14 | 37 | |
| 6 | Al-Fateh | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 37 | 41 | −4 | 37 | Qualification for theUAFA Club Cup |
| 7 | Al-Nassr | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 35 | |
| 8 | Al-Faisaly | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 36 | 41 | −5 | 30 | Qualification for theGCC Champions League |
| 9 | Najran | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 34 | 49 | −15 | 30 | |
| 10 | Al-Raed | 26 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 28 | 39 | −11 | 28 | |
| 11 | Hajer | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 23 | 45 | −22 | 25 | |
| 12 | Al-Taawoun | 26 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 28 | 52 | −24 | 19 | |
| 13 | Al-Qadsiah(R) | 26 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 34 | 52 | −18 | 18 | Relegation to theFirst Division |
| 14 | Al-Ansar(R) | 26 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 19 | 60 | −41 | 10 |
| Home \ Away | AHL | ANS | ETT | FSY | FAT | HIL | ITT | NSR | QAD | RAE | SHB | TWN | HJR | NAJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ahli | 5–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 4–3 | 4–0 | |
| Al-Ansar | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | |
| Al-Ettifaq | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 3–3 | |
| Al-Faisaly | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 4–1 | |
| Al-Fateh | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–5 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–6 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | |
| Al-Hilal | 4–0 | 6–1 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | |
| Al-Ittihad | 1–3 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 5–3 | 7–0 | 2–2 | |
| Al-Nassr | 1–3 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | |
| Al-Qadsiah | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 4–5 | 0–8 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | |
| Al-Raed | 1–5 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | |
| Al-Shabab | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 6–1 | 4–0 | |
| Al-Taawoun | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–4 | |
| Hajer | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | |
| Najran | 0–4 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[47] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Ahli | 21 | |
| Al-Shabab | |||
| 3 | Al-Ahli | 15 | |
| Al-Nassr | |||
| 5 | Al-Qadsiah / Al-Nassr | 12 | |
| Al-Hilal | |||
| Al-Faisaly | |||
| 8 | Al-Ettifaq | 11 | |
| 9 | Al-Fateh | 10 | |
| 10 | Al-Ettifaq | 9 | |
| Al-Ittihad / Al-Shabab | |||
| Al-Fateh | |||
| Al-Ahli | |||
| Najran |
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Qadsiah | Al-Fateh | 6–1 (A) | 14 October 2011 | [48] | |
| Al-Ahli | Al-Taawoun | 4–2 (H) | 15 October 2011 | [49] | |
| Al-Hilal | Al-Qadsiah | 5–4 (A) | 20 October 2011 | [50] | |
| Al-Ittihad | Al-Qadsiah | 8–0 (A) | 2 November 2011 | [51] | |
| Al-Ahli | Al-Ansar | 5–1 (H) | 29 December 2011 | [52] | |
| Al-Shabab | Al-Ansar | 3–0 (H) | 8 April 2012 | [53] |
(H) – Home team
(A) – Away team
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets[54] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Shabab | 13 | |
| Al-Ahli | |||
| 3 | Al-Ettifaq | 11 | |
| 4 | Al-Hilal | 7 | |
| 5 | Al-Hilal | 6 | |
| 6 | Al-Raed | 5 | |
| Al-Fateh | |||
| 8 | Al-Nassr | 4 | |
| Al-Ittihad | |||
| Hajer |
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Ahli | 143,486 | 17,200 | 4,110 | 11,037 | +46.7%† |
| 2 | Al-Hilal | 97,112 | 22,996 | 352 | 7,470 | −14.5%† |
| 3 | Al-Raed | 92,903 | 22,523 | 1,831 | 7,146 | +4.0%† |
| 4 | Al-Ittihad | 91,318 | 16,195 | 2,620 | 7,024 | −6.9%† |
| 5 | Al-Taawoun | 90,672 | 19,658 | 2,058 | 6,975 | +4.2%† |
| 6 | Al-Ansar | 56,669 | 18,400 | 33 | 4,359 | n/a† † |
| 7 | Al-Nassr | 53,748 | 17,945 | 588 | 4,134 | −35.1%† |
| 8 | Al-Ettifaq | 52,653 | 18,016 | 203 | 4,050 | −7.8%† |
| 9 | Al-Shabab | 35,248 | 8,123 | 725 | 2,711 | +56.8%† |
| 10 | Al-Qadsiah | 19,026 | 6,711 | 28 | 1,464 | −28.2%† |
| 11 | Al-Fateh | 18,584 | 4,672 | 164 | 1,430 | −31.5%† |
| 12 | Hajer | 17,921 | 4,225 | 247 | 1,379 | n/a† † |
| 13 | Al-Faisaly | 15,657 | 3,223 | 395 | 1,204 | −8.9%† |
| 14 | Najran | 11,161 | 2,330 | 271 | 859 | −17.7%† |
| League total | 796,158 | 22,996 | 28 | 4,374 | +4.0%† |
Updated to games played on 18 April 2012
Source:[58][59][60]
Notes:
† Teams played previous season inFirst Division.
After a partnership of five years, it was announced thatMobily would no longer sponsor the award.[61] TheArriyadiyah Awards for Sports Excellence were awarded for the sixth time since its inception in 2007. The awards were sponsored by Saudi newspaperArriyadiyah and Saudi marketing company RPM. The awards were presented on 16 December 2012.[62]
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Season | Al-Ahli Al-Shabab Al-Ahli | |
| Young Player of the Season | Al-Ahli Al-Nassr Al-Ittihad | |
| Golden Boot | Al-Ahli Al-Shabab |
TheAl-Riyadiya Awards were awarded for the third time since its inception in 2010. The awards were presented on 13 May 2012.[63]