 | This articlerelies largely or entirely on asingle source. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page. Please helpimprove this article byintroducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Yemeni League" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2026) |
| Founded | 1990 |
|---|---|
| Country | Yemen |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Number of clubs | 14 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Yemeni Second Division |
| Domestic cup | President Cup |
| International cup(s) | AFC Challenge League AGCFF Gulf Club Champions League |
| Most championships | Al-Ahli San'a (11 titles) |
| Top scorer | Ali Al-Nono (163 goals) |
| Website | website |
| Current:2025–26 Yemeni League | |
Yemeni League is the topfootball division of theYemen Football Association. It was created in 1990 after the unification ofNorth andSouth Yemen. It was set up in a four-level system with the Premier, First, Second and Third Divisions.[1]
16 northern and 16 southern clubs entered the top level championship in the 1990–91 season. Previously, two separate championships were used for North and South Yemen.
Currently,[when?] 14 clubs play at the top level, with four clubs being relegated to the second tier. The season is generally run from early November to late June with the league winners entering theAFC Challenge League and theArab Champions League.
The league was cancelled from 2014 to 2021 due to theYemeni Civil War, which also stopped all other footballing activities in Yemen.
| No. | Season | North Yemen | South Yemen | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1970–71 | Not held | Al-Tilal Aden | |
| 2 | 1971–72 | Not held | ||
| 3 | 1972–73 | Not held | ||
| 4 | 1973–74 | Not held | ||
| 5 | 1974–75 | Not held | ||
| 6 | 1975–76 | Not held | Al-Wahda Aden | |
| 7 | 1976–77 | Not held | Al-Tilal Aden | |
| 8 | 1977–78 | Not held | ||
| 9 | 1978–79 | Al-Wahda San'a | ||
| 10 | 1979–80 | Al-Zuhra | Al-Tilal Aden | |
| 11 | 1980–81 | Al-Ahli San'a | ||
| 12 | 1981–82 | Al-Sha'ab San'a | Al-Tilal Aden | |
| 13 | 1982–83 | Al-Ahli San'a | Al-Tilal Aden | |
| 14 | 1983–84 | Al-Ahli San'a | Al-Shorta Aden | |
| 15 | 1984–85 | Not held | ||
| 16 | 1985–86 | Al-Shorta Sana'a' | ||
| 17 | 1986–87 | Not held | Al Tilal Aden | |
| 18 | 1987–88 | Al-Ahli San'a | Al-Wahda Aden | |
| 19 | 1988–89 | Al-Yarmuk Al-Rawda | Al-Wahda Aden | |
| 20 | 1989–90 | Al-Yarmuk Al-Rawda | Al-Shula Aden |
| Rank | Player | Goals | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ali Al-Nono | 163 | 1999–2014 |
| 2 | Adel Al-Salimi | 136 | 1997–2011 |
| 3 | Sharaf Mahfood | 121 | 1985–2005 |
| 4 | Fathi Jabir | 108 | 1997–2008 |
| 5 |  Yordanos Abay | 100 | 2003–2012 |
| Season | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
1996–97 | Jameel Al-Maktry | Shamsan Aden | 21 |
2002–03 | Fikri Al-Habishi | 13 | |
2003–04 | Yordanos Abay | Al-Saqr | 15 |
2004–05 | Yordanos Abay | Al-Saqr | 15 |
2005–06 | Fekri Al-Hubaishi | Shaab Ibb | 26 |
2006–07 | Berhanu Kaseem | 15 | |
2007–08 | Ali Al-Nono | Al-Ahli | 11 |
2008–09 | Lomi Antita | 13 | |
2009–10 |  Amboio | 15 | |
2010–11 | Tesfaye Tafese | Al-Tilal | 15 |
2011–12 | Shaaban Naggar | Al Oruba | 14 |
| Club | Wins | Runners-up | Third places |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ahli Sana'a | 11 | 7 | 4 |
| Al-Tilal Aden | 8 | 5 | 4 |
| Al-Wahda Sana'a | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Al-Sha'ab Ibb | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Al-Saqr Ta'izz | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Al-Wahda Aden | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Al Yarmuk Al Rawda | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Al-Hilal Al-Sahili | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Al-Sha'ab Hadramaut | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Al-Shula Aden | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Al-Oruba Zabid | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Al-Zuhra | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Al-Sha'ab San'a | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Al-Shorta Sana'a' | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Al-Shorta Aden | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Fahman SCC | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Al-Ittihad Ibb | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Al-Tadamun Hadramaut | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Sixteen clubs from a total of seven towns and cities have been champions.
| Town or city | Number of titles | Clubs |
|---|---|---|
| San'a' | 23 | Al-Ahli (11),Al-Wahda (5),Al Yarmouk (3),Al-Oruba (1),Al-Zuhra (1),Al-Sha'ab (1),Al-Shorta Sana'a (1) |
| Aden | 13 | Al-Tilal (8),Al-Wahda (3),Al-Shula (1),Al-Shorta Aden (1) |
| Ta'izz | 3 | Al-Saqr (3) |
| Ibb | 2 | Al-Sha'ab (2) |
| Al Hudaydah | 2 | Al-Hilal (2) |
| Mukalla | 1 | Al-Sha'ab Hadramaut (1) |
| Mudiyah | 1 | Fahman SCC (1) |
| National teams | |
|---|---|
| League competitions | |
| Domestic cup competitions | |
| Defunct competitions | |
| South Yemen | |
| North Yemen | |
