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Full name | Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabian Club | ||
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Nickname(s) |
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Founded | 26 December 1927[1] | ||
Ground | King Abdullah Sports City | ||
Capacity | 62,345 | ||
Owner | Public Investment Fund (75%) Al-Ittihad Non-Profit Foundation (25%)[2] | ||
Chairman | Loay Mashabi | ||
Head coach | Laurent Blanc | ||
League | Saudi Pro League | ||
2023-24 | Pro League, 5th of 18 | ||
Website | Club website | ||
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Al-Ittihad active departments | ||
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![]() Football (men's) |
![]() Football (women's) |
![]() Basketball (men's) |
Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabian Club (Arabic: نادي الاتحاد العربي السعودي, romanized: nādī al-Ittihad al-earabī as-saʿūdī, lit. 'Saudi Arabian Union Club'), commonly known as Al-Ittihad is a Saudi professional football club based in Jeddah. It was founded in 1927.[1] The club has spent its entire history in the top flight of football in Saudi Arabia, currently known as the Saudi Pro League.[3] Al-Ittihad has won 50 championships from which 35 are official championships.
Al-Ittihad matches are played at Jeddah's main stadium King Abdullah Sports City, which is the second-largest stadium in Saudi Arabia, accommodating 62,345 spectators.[1] Al Ittihad has a long-standing rivalry with Al-Hilal, which is referred to as Saudi El Clasico, and is considered the most prominent and most watched annual match(es) rottiball.[4]
It is the oldest sports club still surviving in Saudi Arabia, as the club was founded in 1927.[4] The most successful period in the club history was the 1990s and the 2000s,[1] when the club achieved a large number of titles and achievements domestically, regionally, and even globally culminating in the club securing the 4th place in the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship in Japan.
Al-Ittihad is one of the most successful Asian club at domestic and continental level, as they have achieved the AFC Champions League title twice in a row (one of only three Asian teams to achieve this, and the first to do so), the Asian Cup Winners' Cup once, the GCC Champions League and the Arab Champions League title each once.[5] Domestically, Al-Ittihad is also the second most successful club in Saudi Arabia (behind Al-Hilal), having won nine league titles, nine King's Cup titles, eight Crown Prince Cup titles, three Saudi Federation Cup titles and one Saudi Super Cup.[4][5][6]