Following the successful conclusion of the 2022/23 season, StarTimes has successfully renewed its contract with the Saudi Professional League (SPL), for two consecutive seasons – from 2023/24 to 2024/25 on an all-media platform and all languages rights in sub-Saharan Africa region.
The Saudi League started broadcasts on 11 August on the three major platforms of StarTimes – Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), Direct To Home (DTH) and StarTimes On App. African audiences can watch the exciting matches of the top clubs including Al Nassr, Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Fahya through the StarTimes platforms.
Starting from the 2023/24 season, the league has expanded to 18 teams, and each team’s eight (8) foreign players can play at the same time. The Saudi League adopts a home and away double round robin rule, so there will be 34 match-days in total, and the season will last from August to May of the following year. As the most successful team in the Saudi League, Al Nassr club has won 18 league championships.
Saudi football is conducting transfer operations and implementing football development plans at the national level. At the end of last year, Al Nassr successfully recruited superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, attracting global attention. This is also the beginning of the expansion of the Saudi League. Currently, Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ittihad and Al Ahli are 75 percent owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).
From this summer, the Saudi League has begun to spend a lot of money, signing a number of football stars who have played in the five major European leagues, including Real Madrid’s Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, Bayern’s Sadio Mane, Chelsea’s N’Golo Kanté, Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly, Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez, Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, FC Barcelona’s Franck Kessié, Inter Milan’s Marcelo Brozović and other top stars including Ruben Neves, Allan Saint-Maximin, Malcom, Mousa Dembélé, Seko Fofana and Fashio Sakala Jr from Socttish giants, Glasgow Rangers.
The Saudi League not only builds its lineup and popularity by stacking football superstars, but also sets its sights on the long-term development of the league, hiring Michael Emenalo, the former transfer director at Chelsea Club, as the CEO of the Saudi Super League, and is mainly responsible for transfers, especially the scouting and recruiting of young players.
In the new season, the stars of the Saudi League are shining, and the current trend of European stars flowing to Saudi Arabia is not over yet. Next, we will witness more top stars coming to Saudi Arabia.
In the 2023/24 season, StarTimes will continue to provide African audiences with exciting sports events including the Bundesliga, Saudi League, Brazil Liga, Copa Libertadores, Coppa Italia and Italian Super Cup, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup, Portuguese Cup and Portuguese League Cup, US Open Cup (with Lionel Messi participating. Subscribers can also enjoy the latest news and highlights of various events in real time on StarTimes ON, the official APP of StarTimes.
