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The Saudi Professional League, officially known as (Arabic: دوري المحترفين السعودي), is the main football competition in Saudi Arabia. The first competition was held in the year of 1976–77. Al-Nassr is the current title-holder (2013–14).
The league also known for sponsorship reasons as Abdul Latif Jameel League, named after the sponsor Abdul Latif Jameel Group.
Up until the late seventies, football in Saudi Arabia was organized on a regional basis, with the only nationwide tournament being the King's Cup. In 1976 it was deemed that local football, and transportation links, have improved sufficiently to organize a national league. Hence the Saudi League was launched with 8 clubs participating.
In 1981 it was decided to increase the number of clubs and add a second division. The league competition for the 1981–82, known as the ranking league, featured 18 clubs with the top eight qualifying for the first division and the bottom ten to the new second division. The number of first division clubs was later increased to 12 in the 1984–85 season.
In 1990 it was decided to revamp local competitions and to introduce professional football. A new league championship was formed called "The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques League Cup", which was a two-stage championship. The first stage was a regular double round-robin league competition with the top 4 qualifying to the final knockout stage, called the golden square. Clubs were allowed to sign players on a professional basis making the league semi professional.
In 2007 It was decided to split the two stages, with the league reverting to a standard double round-robin competition, and a new domestic competition cup competition formed called "The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques Champions Cup". This cup will feature the top six finishers in the league plus the winners of the Crown Prince Cup and the Prince Faisal Cup. This format will take effect from the 2007–08 season onwards.
The top four teams in the league qualify to the AFC Asian Champions League group stage. The top six qualify to Champions Cup.
Prize money:
(Note, all clubs in the Saudi Professional League receive prize money depending on their rank.)
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