The 2019–20 Prince Mohammad bin Salman League was the third season of the Prince Mohammad bin Salman League under its current name, and 43rd season of the Saudi First Division since its establishment in 1976. The season started on 20 August 2019 and concluded on 20 September 2020. Fixtures for the 2019–20 season were announced on 14 July 2019. Al-Batin won the title, with Al-Qadsiah and Al-Ain following in second and third respectively.
On 7 March 2020, the Ministry of Sports announced that all matches would be played behind closed doors until further notice. On 14 March 2020, the Ministry suspended all sports competitions indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. On 11 June 2020, the Ministry of Sports announced the resumption of sports activities with training starting on 21 June and games starting after 4 August 2020 and played behind closed doors. On 1 July 2020, the schedule for the remaining matches was released. It was announced that the league would resume on 4 August 2020 and end on 20 September 2020.
Overview Rule changes On 9 June 2019, the SAFF announced that the numbers of foreign players were decreased from 7 players to 4 players.
Teams A total of 20 teams are contesting the league, including 13 sides from the 2018–19 season, 4 promoted teams from the Second Division and the three relegated sides from the Pro League.
The first team to be relegated to the MS League was Ohod, ending a 2-year stay in the Pro League following a 3–1 home defeat to Al-Fayha on 12 April 2019. The second team to be relegated was Al-Batin, ending a 3-year stay in the Pro League following a 1–0 home defeat to an already relegated Ohod side on 11 May 2019. The third and final team to be relegated was Al-Qadsiah, who were relegated on the final matchday following a 2–2 home draw with Al-Hazem. Al-Qadsiah were relegated after 4 consecutive seasons in the Pro League.
The first club to be promoted was Al-Bukayriyah who were promoted following a 1–1 away draw against Al-Jandal on 16 March 2019. The second club to be promoted was Hetten following a 2–0 home win against Afif on 29 March 2019. The third club to be promoted was Al-Thoqbah who were promoted following a 3–1 home win against Arar on 29 March 2019. The fourth and final club to be promoted was Al-Taqadom who were promoted on the final matchday following a 3–0 home win against Al-Muzahimiyyah.
Hetten were promoted as the winners of the Second Division and Al-Bukayriyah were promoted as the runners-up. Al-Thoqbah defeated Al-Taqadom in the third-place playoffs.
Al-Bukayriyah, Al-Taqadom, and Al-Thoqbah will play in the Prince Mohammad bin Salman League for the first time in their history. Hetten will play in their 8th overall season in the MS League. This will be their first season in the MS League following their relegation in the 2014–15 season.
Team changes The following teams have changed division since the 2019–20 season.
Stadia and locations
Team Location Stadium Capacity Al-Ain Al-Atawilah King Saud Sport City Stadium (Al Bahah) Al-Ansar Medina Al-Ansar Club Stadium Al-Batin Hafar al-Batin Al-Batin Club Stadium Al-Bukayriyah Al Bukayriyah Al-Bukayriyah Club Stadium Al-Jabalain Ha'il Prince Abdul Aziz bin Musa'ed Stadium Al-Jeel Al-Hasa Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium Al-Kawkab Al-Kharj Al-Shoulla Club Stadium Al-Khaleej Saihat Al-Khaleej Club Stadium Al-Mujazzal Al-Majma'ah Al-Majma'ah City Stadium Al-Nahda Dammam Prince Fahd bin Salman Stadium Al-Nojoom Al-Hasa Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium Al-Qadsiah Khobar Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium Al-Shoulla Al-Kharj Al-Shoulla Club Stadium Al-Tai Ha'il Prince Abdul Aziz bin Musa'ed Stadium Al-Taqadom Al Mithnab Al-Najma Club Stadium (Unaizah) Al-Thoqbah Khobar Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium Hetten Samtah King Faisal Sport City Stadium (Jizan) Jeddah Jeddah Reserve Stadium in King Abdullah Sports City Najran Najran Najran Sport City Stadium Ohod Medina Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz Stadium 1: Al-Jeel and Al-Nojoom also use Al-Fateh Club Stadium (7,000 seats) as a home stadium. 2: Al-Nahda, Al-Qadsiah and Al-Thoqbah also use Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium (35,000 seats) as a home stadium.
Foreign players The number of foreign players is limited to 4 per team.
Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Former Players Al-Ain Soualio Ouattara Peter Nworah Haythem Jouini Youssef Fouzai Yassine Lakhal Aboubacar Sylla Al-Ansar Hamza Aït Ouamar Baraka Richard Baffour Ricardinho David Ochieng Marouane Fakhr Saith Sakala Al-Batin Lassina Diaby Bader Hassan Mehdi Ressaissi Seddik Majeri Al-Bukayriyah Martial Yao Ousmane Barry Okiemute Odah Mahmoud Ben Salah Paul Onobi Al-Jabalain Carlão Diego Miranda Pitty António Filipe Hacène Ogbi Zurab Tsiskaridze Al-Jeel Houssem Tabboubi Yassine Boufalgha Douglas Caé Al-Kawkab Emmanuel Banahene Chaker Rguiî Sergio Moreno Chiheb Jebali Mohamed Houssem Slimène Al-Khaleej Zakaria Haddouche Ulrich Kapolongo Latif Amadu Samuel Sarfo Victor Golas Bessam Al-Mujazzal Ronald Ngah Mahmoud Al-Youssef Hocine El Orfi Hossin Lagoun Alexander Christovão Abuda Cléber Prado Jefferson Baiano Mamadou Konaté Chris Gadi Al-Nahda Cheibane Traoré Alaeddine Abbès Hachem Abbès Lassaâd Jaziri Al-Nojoom Wesley Motuca Tafsir Chérif Franco Güity Ousmane Faye Gugu Vieira Wesley Santos Al-Qadsiah Jack Duncan Rhys Williams Mahdi Al-Humaidan Stanley Ohawuchi Andy Keogh Al-Shoulla Mamadou Soro Sylla Daouda Abdulwahab Annan Isah Aliyu Amine Mhadhebi Khaled Gharsellaoui Al-Tai Kheireddine Boussouf Patrick Mevoungou Dudu Pitty Jorge Silva Eddie Hernández Al-Taqadom Guillaume Daho Mahmoud El Ghazali Shehab El-Din Ahmed Lester Peltier Alain Zoe Gaber Salem Ousmane Diabaté Al-Thoqbah Ichaka Diarra Amir Omrani Oussema Amdouni Moïse Zongo Lucas Michel Boubacar Cissokho Tarek Kodhai Hetten Diego Lima Jurica Buljat Ishmael Yartey Macauley Chrisantus Pingo Abdoulaye Ba Houssem Tabboubi Mossaâb Sassi Slim Bacha Jeddah Helton Johann Lengoualama Modou Jobe Hassan Wasswa Najran Carlos Coppetti Carlos Henrique Oumarou Kaina Gbolahan Salami Patrick Vieira Boubacar Diarra Shadi Al Hamwi Ohod Abderaouf Natèche Hacène Ogbi Chiheb Zoghlami Houssem Eddine Sdiri Baha' Abdel-Rahman Muhamed Keita Hichem Essifi
League table
Positions by round The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled but added to the full round they were played immediately afterward.
Results
Season progress
Statistics
Scoring Top scorers Rank Player Club Goals1 Ousmane BarryAl-Bukayriyah272 Stanley OhawuchiAl-Qadsiah243 Cheibane TraoréAl-Nahda214 CarlãoAl-Jabalain17 Hassan SharahiliAl-Batin Abdullah HadheretiAl-Taqadom/Al-Qadsiah7 Mamadou SoroAl-Shoulla16 Ibrahim SoryJeddah9 DuduAl-Tai13 Amir OmraniAl-Thoqbah
Hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date Bader Al-Khamees Al-Thoqbah Hetten 5–2 (A) Peter Nworah Al-Ain Al-Nahda 6–1 (H) Islam Seraj Al-Shoulla Al-Tai 5–0 (H) Dudu Al-Tai Hetten 5–0 (H) Abdullah Hadhereti Al-Qadsiah Al-Ansar 6–0 (H) Ibrahim Sory Jeddah Hetten 5–2 (H) Abdullah Hadhereti Al-Qadsiah Ohod 5–1 (H) Franco Güity Al-Nojoom Al-Mujazzal 5–1 (A) Guillaume Nicaise Daho Al-Taqadom Hetten 5–2 (H) Mohammed Al-Harthi Al-Jabalain Jeddah 3–0 (H) Stanley Ohawuchi Al-Qadsiah Al-Jeel 5–1 (H) Yazid Al-Jumaiaah Al-Kawkab Hetten 5–2 (H) Note (H) – Home; (A) – Away
Clean sheets RankPlayerClubCleansheets1 Mohammed MazyadAl-Ain172 Mazyad FreehAl-Batin163 Abderaouf NatècheOhod13 Okiemute OdahAl-Bukayriyah5 Jack DuncanAl-Qadsiah12 Nawaf Al-OtaibiAl-Nahda7 Kheireddine BoussoufAl-Tai11 Francisco PereiraAl-Jeel9 Wadia Al-ObaidNajran9 Abdullah Al-ShammeriAl-Kawkab Mohammed AssiriAl-Thoqbah Saeed Al-HarbiAl-Shoulla António FilipeAl-Jabalain
See also 2019–20 Saudi Professional League 2019–20 Second Division 2020 King Cup 2019 Super Cup
References