Part of Saudi Arabian culture
Sport in
Saudi Arabia
is an important part of
Saudi Arabian culture
and the country participates in many international sporting competitions along with multiple esport competitions.
Football is a particularly popular sport
and Saudi Arabia has won the
Asian Cup
on three occasions, while other sports such as cricket and basketball are also widely followed.
In December 2019, the
Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee
approved the launch of five new sports federations each for hockey, lacrosse, rugby, baseball and softball, thus taking another step towards diversifying the country's sports landscape.
[1]
Football
is the most popular sport in Saudi Arabia.
[2]
In recent years, the sport has grown in popularity, and some Saudi players currently play in Europe. The
Saudi Arabia national football team
is governed by the
Saudi Football Federation
(SFF). The SFF organises the
Saudi leagues
, and the
Saudi Arabian Cup
. The Saudi national team has competed in six
FIFA World Cup
competitions, in
1994
,
1998
,
2002
,
2006
,
2018
and most recently, in
2022
. The Saudi team has also competed in seven
AFC Asian Cup
competitions, first in 1984. Achievements from the AFC Cup include being the Champions in
1984
,
1988
, and recently, in
1996
. The current player of the year is
Hussein Sulaimani
,
[
when?
]
who is the captain of Saudi Arabia football team. Saudi Arabia also regularly participate in the
Arabian Gulf Cup
,
AFC Champions League
, and
Arab Nations Cup
. The kingdom is set to host
Supercopa de Espana
for the first time. However, the response of international fans, especially from Spain, hasn't been too well, with only under 10% of the tickets been sold until now.
[3]
Motorsport
[
edit
]
The race is held at the
Riyadh Street Circuit
in
Diriyah
, a
town
in
Saudi Arabia
located on the north-western outskirts of the capital,
Riyadh
. The track is 2.495 km (1.550 mi) in length and features 21 turns.
In 2021,
Formula One
announced they were going to
Saudi Arabia
for the first time, with racing held in
Jeddah
across the
Red Sea
.
Cricket
[
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]
Cricket is the second most popular sport in Saudi Arabia, largely due to the increasing number of South Asian expatriates who play the game during their spare time. However, during recent years cricket has generated interest among many Arab locals, such as
Faique Habib
and
Nadim Al Nadwi
, who have both represented Saudi Arabia at the national level. Currently there are over 8000 Saudi cricketers, with nearly 20 percent being local Arabs, and the majority of the rest coming from countries such as
Pakistan
,
India
and
Sri Lanka
.
There are many cricket associations Saudi Arabia, with
Yanbu Al Sinaiyah Cricket Association
being the largest. Each major city has its own organisation which holds its own domestic cup for each format.
Since 2010 Saudi Arabia has gained quite a lot of fame for its style of cricket, as it has won several regional tournaments on turf, even though back home players only play on concrete. Saudi Arabia's biggest win to date was in September 2016, where they beat a
Namibian national
side by 141 runs. 2 months later they also won their first major series which came in the form of a quadrangular series also involving
Kenya
,
Uganda
and
Qatar
.
Saudi Arabia's greatest cricketer is
Shoaib Ali
, who has contributed to major victories both home and away, and who has captained the nation since 2008. He is a bowling all rounder who made his debut against
Thailand
in the 2008 ACC Under-19 Challenge Cup.
Basketball
[
edit
]
Basketball
is also a popular sport in Saudi Arabia. The
Saudi Premier League
has been home to several players who competed at the
FIBA Asia Championship
and has also attracted
NBA
players such as
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
.
Besides "regular" basketball,
3x3 basketball
has become increasingly popular.
[6]
Ice hockey
[
edit
]
Ice hockey
is also a minor sport but it has not been popular in Saudi Arabia; the first game occurred in 2010 during the
Gulf Ice Hockey Championship
.
Professional wrestling
[
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]
Professional wrestling
has been a recognizable minor sport in Saudi Arabia. The country has hosted one event by the U.S.-based promotion,
WWE
in
Jeddah
dubbed the
Greatest Royal Rumble
on April 27, 2018. The company will host a second event in
Riyadh
in fall of 2018 as part of the
Saudi Vision 2030
plan.
[7]
WWE's programming (e.g.
WWE Wal3ooha
) airs throughout the country on
OSN Sports
Action 1 and has access to the
WWE Network
streaming service.
Rugby union
[
edit
]
Rugby union
in Saudi Arabia is a minor but growing sport, which has been played for several decades in the Kingdom. Many of the local rugby clubs date back to the late 1970s.
National teams
[
edit
]
This is a list of Saudi Arabian national sports teams:
Sports journalism
[
edit
]
Al Riyada
was the first sports newspaper in Saudi Arabia founded by
Muhammad Abdullah Malibari
.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
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Summer Olympic Sports
|
- Aquatics
- Diving
- Swimming
- Synchronized Swimming
- Water Polo
- Archery
- Athletics
- Badminton
- Basketball
- Boxing
- Canoeing
- Cycling
- Equestrian
- Fencing
- Field Hockey
- Football
- Golf
- Gymnastics
- Handball
- Judo
- Modern Pentathlon
- Rugby 7's
- Rowing
- Sailing
- Shooting
- Table Tennis
- Taekwondo
- Tennis
- Triathlon
- Volleyball
- Weightlifting
- Wrestling
| |
---|
Winter Olympic Sports
|
- Biathlon
- Bobsleigh
- Curling
- Skating (Figure, Speed & Short Track)
- Ice Hockey
- Luge
- Skeleton
- Skiing (Alpine, Cross Country, Nordic Combined, Freestyle & Jumping)
- Snowboarding
|
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Other IOC Recognised Sports
|
- Air sports
- Auto racing
- Bandy
- Baseball
- Billiard Sports
- Boules
- Bowling
- Bridge
- Chess
- Cricket
- Dance sport
- Floorball
- Karate
- Korfball
- Lifesaving
- Motorcycle racing
- Mountaineering and Climbing
- Netball
- Orienteering
- Pelota Vasca
- Polo
- Powerboating
- Racquetball
- Roller sports
- Rugby
- Softball
- Sport climbing
- Squash
- Sumo
- Surfing
- Tug of war
- Underwater sports
- Water Ski
- Wushu
|
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Paralympics and Disabled Sports
| |
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Others Sports
| |
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