As the outdated saying goes: you’ll be able to lead a horse to water however you’ll be able to’t make it sit and watch a Saudi Pro League match.
Organisers of soccer’s latest it division are shortly studying that status and fervour cannot be purchased, particularly when the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema aren’t about. A paltry 575 individuals turned as much as the £450million 62,000-capacity King Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium to observe Al-Wehda vs Al-Okhdood on Saturday in yet one more humiliating blow for the competitors.
By distinction, 1,842 followers attended Chasetown’s 3-2 win over Witton Albion within the Northern Premier League Division One West, the eighth tier of English soccer, simply over every week in the past. Meanwhile, a number of matches within the seventh tier had attendance figures effectively over 1,000 this weekend.
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The sport between Al-Wehda and Al-Okhdood was certainly one of over 40 Saudi Pro League matches with a crowd of beneath 1,000 spectators this season, and a few video games have seen fewer than 200 individuals present up. Granted, neither membership is PIF-funded and thus don’t have any family names to parade round, however the poor attendance figures demonstrates the severity of the engagement issues going through the division.
Ex-Watford striker Odion Ighalo, who spent a forgettable half-season on mortgage at Manchester United, was the one recognisable identify in Al-Wehda’s workforce, and the one semi-notable participant their opponents might boast was former Barcelona teen Alex Collado, who’s mortgage on the membership from Real Betis.
The sport (as if you happen to cared) completed 2-0 to Al-Wehda, which moved them as much as ninth within the Saudi Pro League and only a level behind Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq aspect. Meanwhile, Al-Okhdood have dropped into the relegation zone and are simply two factors off the underside.
How lengthy will prime gamers proceed to maneuver to the Saudi Pro League? Let us know within the feedback part beneath.
(Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Top of the tree is Al-Hilal, who purchased the likes of Neymar, Ruben Neves and Kalidou Koulibaly in the summertime. They’re the one workforce nonetheless undefeated, with 14 wins from 16 video games. Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr aspect are seven factors behind in second, whereas Al-Ittihad, who signed Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Fabinho, have dropped all the way down to fifth after their robust begin.
Collectively, Saudi golf equipment spent greater than £1billion on new gamers and managers over the summer time, with among the largest names in European soccer being coaxed over to the Gulf state. Most of the superstars, like Benzema, Neymar, Kante, Riyadh Mahrez and Sadio Mane, are within the twilight of their careers, however younger(ish)-guns like Neves, Malcom, Allan Saint-Maximin and Franck Kessie had been additionally lured over.
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High-profile(ish) managers similar to Gerrard, Nuno Espirito Santo and Jorge Jesus had been drafted in too, and plans are afoot to nab some elite-level coaches in 2024, with the likes of Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti reportedly being focused.