The Saudi frontier has more than emerged this summer after the sleeping ‘giant’ awoke with the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at the end of 2022.
The country’s unrelenting desire for sporting relevancy has drifted into the footballing realm, and the Saudi Pro League has suddenly blossomed into a division of distinct lucrativeness for European footballers.
With Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) taking control of the league’s four most historically significant clubs this summer, the dynamic of the transfer market has altered drastically. The Saudis have made a big splash off the field, but now it’s time for the clubs to do some talking on the pitch.
While the Saudi Pro League doesn’t get underway until mid-August, four Saudi clubs will get the chance to showcase their new superstar-laden squads in the Arab Club Champions Cup this summer. The group stage of the competition soon kicks off, and here’s everything you need to know about it.
The Arab Club Champions Cup is an annual competition (although this was be the first time its being held since 2019/20) contested between the very best teams from the Arab world.
The competition is set up by the Union of Arab Football Associations and was first held in 1981.
In 2023, 24 teams entered the qualifying round with only six progressing into the group stage of the competition. Ten teams qualified automatically for the Cup. Seven of these teams won their respective domestic league last season, one is a previous winner of the competition, one is a previous runner-up, while the final team was invited by the host nation (Saudi Arabia).
Saudi Arabia are playing host to this year’s tournament, with three cities and three stadiums playing host to the group stage and knockout fixtures.
|
City |
Stadium |
Capacity |
|---|---|---|
|
Abha |
Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium |
20,000 |
|
Albahah |
King Saud Sport City Stadium |
10,000 |
|
Taif |
King Fahd Stadium |
20,000 |
Four Saudi Pro League teams will be taking part in the Arab Club Champions Cup after Al Shabab progressed into the group stage via qualifying. They joined Al Nassr, Al Ittihad, and Al Hilal in the competition.
The 16 teams competing in the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup are as follows:
Group stage schedule
|
Date / Kick-Off Time |
Fixture |
Group |
|---|---|---|
|
27/07/23 / 14:00 |
Al Sadd vs Wydad AC |
B |
|
27/07/23 / 16:00 |
CS Sfaxien vs Al Shorta |
A |
|
27/07/23 / 18:00 |
Al Ahly Tripoli vs Al Hilal |
B |
|
27/07/23 / 20:00 |
ES Tunis vs Al Ittihad |
A |
|
28/07/23 / 14:00 |
CR Belouizdad vs Raja CA |
D |
|
28/07/23 / 16:00 |
Zamalek vs Monastir |
C |
|
28/07/23 / 18:00 |
Kuwait SC vs Al Wahda SC |
D |
|
28/07/23 / 20:00 |
Al Nassr vs Al Shabab |
C |
|
30/07/23 / 14:00 |
Wydad AC vs Al Ahly Tripoli |
B |
|
30/07/23 / 16:00 |
Al Shorta vs ES Tunis |
A |
|
30/07/23 / 18:00 |
Al Hilal vs Al Sadd |
B |
|
30/07/23 / 20:00 |
Al Ittihad vs CS Sfaxien |
A |
|
31/07/23 / 14:00 |
CR Belouizdad vs Al Wahda |
D |
|
31/07/23 / 16:00 |
Al Shabab vs Zamalek |
C |
|
31/07/23 / 18:00 |
Raja CA vs Kuwait SC |
D |
|
31/07/23 / 20:00 |
Monastir vs Al Nassr |
C |
|
02/08/23 / 14:00 |
Al Sadd vs Al Ahly Tripoli |
B |
|
02/08/23 / 14:00 |
Al Hilal vs Wydad AC |
B |
|
02/08/23 / 16:00 |
Al Shorta vs Al Ittihad |
A |
|
02/08/23 / 16:00 |
ES Tunis vs CS Sfaxien |
A |
|
03/08/23 / 14:00 |
Raja CA vs Al Wahda |
D |
|
03/08/23 / 14:00 |
CR Belouizdad vs Kuwait SC |
D |
|
03/08/23 / 16:00 |
Al Shabab vs Monastir |
C |
|
03/08/23 / 16:00 |
Zamalek vs Al Nassr |
C |
Knockout schedule
|
Date / Kick-Off Time |
Fixture |
Location |
|---|---|---|
|
05/08/23 / 18:00 |
Group B winners vs Group A runners-up |
Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium, Abha |
|
05/08/23 / 21:00 |
Group A winners vs Group B runners-up |
King Fahd Stadium, Taif |
|
05/08/23 / 18:00 |
Group D winners vs Group C runners-up |
Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium, Abha |
|
06/08/23 / 21:00 |
Group C winners vs Group D runners-up |
King Fahd Stadium, Taif |
|
09/08/23 / 18:00 |
Group A winners/Group B runners-up vs Group C winners/Group D runners-up |
Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium, Abha |
|
09/08/23 / 21:00 |
Group B winners/Group A runners-up vs Group D winners/Group C runners-up |
King Fahd Stadium, Taif |
|
12/08/23 / 21:00 |
TBC |
Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium, Abha |
There is currently no scheduling information for any of the upcoming Arab Club Champions Cup fixtures, though the following broadcasters had rights to show Cristiano Ronaldo’s games for Al Nassr last season.
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Sky Sports (YouTube stream) |
|
United States |
ESPN |
|
France |
The team |
|
Italy |
SportItalia |
|
Portugal |
Sports TV |
|
Middle East |
SSC |
|
International |
Shahid |
Two teams have won this competition three times: ES Tunis and Al Rasheed.
Saudi clubs Al HilalAl Ettifaq, and Al Shabab have all won it twice, while Al Ittihad and Al Ahli are each one-time victors. However, there hasn’t been a winner from Saudi Arabia since 2005 with African clubs recently dominating the competiton.
Morocco’s Raja CA are the current holders.
