King Saud Attended Only One Final… Al‑Ahli the Leader… and Majed & Ghurab the Top Scorers
Saudi newspaper “Sport” reviews the history of the King’s Cup from its inception until today, on the occasion of the upcoming final between Al‑Ahli and Al‑Shabab, scheduled for Thursday evening under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.
This tournament—considered the oldest among Saudi domestic competitions—has long been the subject of debate since its return in 1428 AH, particularly regarding whether the current edition is a continuation of the original tournament or a separate competition that was merged with the league championship in 1411 AH.
However, the Saudi Football Federation settled this debate by distributing a booklet during the draw for the 1432 AH edition, outlining the tournament’s history and affirming that it is a continuation of the competition that stopped in 1410 AH. Accordingly, we recount the tournament’s history as officially recognized.
History
The King’s Cup is the first official Saudi football tournament held under the Saudi Football Federation. It went through several stages that reflect the early development of Saudi football.
The tournament began in 1377 AH, limited to clubs from the Western Region (Jeddah and Makkah), with the participation of Al‑Ittihad, Al‑Thaghr, and Al‑Olympi from Jeddah, and Al‑Wehda and Al‑Shabab from Makkah.
The first official match was between Al‑Ittihad and Al‑Shabab, ending in a 3–1 victory for Al‑Ittihad at Al‑Sabbān Stadium in Jeddah.
Al‑Ittihad and Al‑Wehda reached the final after ten matches among the participating teams. The final was replayed due to a draw, and in the second match Al‑Wehda won decisively 4–0.
Competition remained exclusive to Western clubs until 1381 AH, when clubs from the Central Region joined. The champion of the West faced the champion of Riyadh. Al‑Hilal reached the final for the first time and defeated defending champions Al‑Wehda 3–2.
In the following season, clubs from the Eastern Region joined. The Eastern champion faced the Central champion, and the winner met the Western champion in the final.
In 1387 AH, the tournament was held for the first time at the national level, open to all Premier, First, and Second Division clubs.
Seven clubs have won the title: Al‑Wehda, Al‑Ittihad, Al‑Hilal, Al‑Ahli, Al‑Ittifaq, Al‑Nassr, and Al‑Shabab, listed according to the year of their first title.
The tournament stopped in 1410 AH after Al‑Nassr defeated Al‑Taawoun in the final. The league was then renamed “The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup.” The name returned in 1428 AH for the newly introduced competition.
Below is a summary of the most notable historical records since the tournament’s inception:
Key Records
- First team to win the Cup: Al‑Wehda (1377 AH)
- First champion across Central & Western Regions: Al‑Hilal (1381 AH)
- First champion across Central, Western & Eastern Regions: Al‑Ahli (1382 AH)
- First national‑level champion: Al‑Ittihad (1387 AH)
- First team to win three consecutive titles: Al‑Ittihad (1378, 1379, 1380 AH)
- First team to permanently retain the Cup: Al‑Ahli (1390 AH), and again in 1398 AH
- Teams that permanently retained the Cup: Al‑Ahli, Al‑Hilal (1404 AH), Al‑Nassr (1410 AH)
- Al‑Ittihad was the first to win three titles (1380 AH) but did not retain the Cup because the rule was introduced only in 1382 AH
- First referee of a final: Egyptian Abdulrahman Fawzi (1377 AH)
- First Saudi referee of a final: Abdullah Kaaki (1384 AH), also the first referee in tournament history (1379 AH)
- First player sent off in a final: Said Mustafa (Al‑Ittihad, 1377 AH)
- First player to score in a final: Hassan Baz (Al‑Wehda, 1377 AH), also the first to score multiple goals
- First hat‑trick in a final: Rajab Khamees (Al‑Hilal vs. Al‑Wehda, 1381 AH)
- First penalty goal in a final: Basheer Al‑Ghoul (Al‑Hilal vs. Al‑Ittifaq, 1388 AH)
- First final to go into extra time: Al‑Ahli vs. Ahli Riyadh (1382 AH)
- First final decided by penalties: Al‑Hilal vs. Al‑Ittihad (1384 AH)
- First night final under floodlights: Al‑Ahli vs. Al‑Ittihad (1399 AH)
- Fastest goal in a final: Abdulqader Aidan (Al‑Ittifaq vs. Al‑Ahli, 1385 AH) — 45 seconds
- Top scorers in finals: Majed Abdullah (Al‑Nassr) and Saeed Ghurab (Al‑Ittihad/Al‑Ahli) — 4 goals each
- King Saud awarded only one Cup: in 1383 AH, to Al‑Ittihad after defeating Al‑Hilal
- King Faisal awarded the Cup 10 times (Al‑Ahli 5, Al‑Hilal, Al‑Ittihad, Al‑Wehda, Al‑Ittifaq, Al‑Nassr)
- King Khalid awarded it 6 times (Al‑Ahli 3, Al‑Nassr 2, Al‑Hilal)
- King Fahd awarded it 8 times (Al‑Ahli 2, Al‑Hilal 2, Al‑Nassr 2, Al‑Ittifaq, Al‑Ittihad)
- King Abdullah awarded it 7 times (Al‑Shabab, Al‑Ahli 2, Al‑Ittihad, Al‑Hilal, Al‑Nassr)
- Last goal in a final: scored by Hungarian Georgi Sandro (Al‑Ittihad vs. Al‑Shabab, 4–2, 1434 AH)
- Most titles: Al‑Ahli (12), followed by Al‑Ittihad (8), Al‑Nassr & Al‑Hilal (6 each), Al‑Ittifaq, Al‑Shabab, and Al‑Wehda (2 each)