Al-Ula FC

The roots of the foundation of Al-Ula SFC go back to 1978 when a friendly match was held between two amateur sides in the city.^[3] The match was attended by the governor of Medina Province at the time Prince Abdul Muhsin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Following the match's success, the two teams' leaders agreed to merge both clubs into one that would represent the governorate. The club was officially registered with the General Presidency of Youth Welfare in 1981 under the name of Wadi Al-Qura. A few years later the club changed their to Al-Ula. Since its inception, the club has had eight presidents, with Mousa Abdulwahed being the first.^[4]

Al-Ula had a relatively anonymous existence in the lower tiers of Saudi football until June 2023, when the club came under the control of the Royal Commission for Al-'Ula, a state commission under Mohammed bin Salman as part of the Saudi Vision 2030.^[5][6][7]

As part of the takeover, the club made substantial investments in new players, including Brazilian forward Allan Sousa, who joined from Danish club AaB for an annual salary believed to be €2.5 million. This significant signing occurred despite the club's participation in the Saudi Third Division, which is the fourth tier of the Saudi football league system.^[8][9] Sousa was presented alongside Nigerian forward Christian Irobiso.^[10] Sousa and Irobiso became the first foreign players in the club's history. In addition to Sousa and Irobiso's signings, the club also made other high-profile signings including former Saudi international Hamad Al-Juhaim, Ghallab Al-Enezi, Fahad Al-Johani and Muhannad Awadh. All of whom joined from First Division sides. During the January transfer window, Al-Ula made further additions to their squad including First Division top scorer Ousmane Barry, and Pro League winners Aqeel Baalghyth and Housain Al-Mogahwi. On 8 March 2024, Al-Ula secured promotion to the third tier, the Saudi Second Division League, for the first time in history after beating Al-Fao 3–1 in the final matchday of the group stages.^[11] On 23 March 2024, Al-Ula won the Saudi Third Division for the first time after defeating Al-Anwar 8–7 on penalties (2–2 after extra time) in the final.^[12]

• Saudi Second Division League (tier 3)
  • Runners-up (1): 2024–25
• Saudi Third Division League (tier 4)
  • Winners (1): 2023–24

As of 30 August 2025^[13]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  KSA Ahmed Al Jubaya 2 DF  KSA Ali Al-Zubaidi 3 FW  KSA Aseel Abdulrazaq 4 DF  KSA Yousef Haqawi 5 MF  BRA Danilo Barbosa 6 MF  KSA Ali Al-Hussain (on loan from Al-Fayha) 7 MF  KSA Ayman Al-Khulaif 8 MF  KSA Abdulmajeed Al-Sulaiheem (on loan from Al-Nassr) 9 FW  GRE Efthymis Koulouris 10 MF  ARG Cristian Guanca 11 MF  KSA Zaid Al-Anazi 12 DF  KSA Khaled Al-Shamrani 13 GK  KSA Abdulsalam Al-Shamsan 14 DF  KSA Fahad Al-Jumayah

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 DF  SRB Matija Nastasić 24 DF  KSA Ammar Al-Dohaim 27 DF  KSA Hamdan Al-Shamrani 29 MF  KSA Mohammed Al-Majhad 33 GK  KSA Mohammed Al-Owais 37 GK  KSA Faris Afandy 45 MF  KSA Faisal Al-Asmari 49 MF  KSA Ahmed Al-Zain 66 DF  KSA Khaled Al-Ruwaili 77 FW  KSA Abdulfattah Adam 88 MF  KSA Sumayhan Al-Nabit 96 FW  BRA Michael 97 DF  YEM Salem Ayyash 99 FW  KSA Freej Al-Jizani

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 DF  KSA Ammar Al-Harfi (on loan to Al-Riyadh) 17 MF  KSA Nasser Al-Daajani (on loan to Abha) 18 MF  KSA Thamer Al-Mousa (on loan to Al-Kholood) 19 FW  KSA Mohammed Al-Nakhli (on loan to Al-Faisaly) 20 MF  KSA Thaar Al-Otaibi (on loan to Al-Zulfi)

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 DF  KSA Abdulrahman Al-Khaibari (on loan to Damac) 30 MF  BRA Eduardo Henrique (on loan to Al-Faisaly) 48 FW  KSA Faisal Nahet (on loan to Al-Ittihad) 55 MF  KSA Nasser Al-Hadhood (on loan to Al-Anwar) 72 GK  KSA Salem Qabbos (on loan to Al-Faisaly)

Despite being a team in the Saudi Second Division, Al-Ula was able to sign esports teams for the 2024 Esports World Cup, held in Saudi Arabia. They signed all-British Call of Duty: Warzone roster that finished 19th in their tournament and partnered with the reigning PUBG Mobile world champions in IHC Esports for the PUBG Mobile World Cup.^{[citation needed]}