Saudi Pro League: How underdogs Al Shabab plan to challenge richer rivals

As the sun set on the first Monday of June, football fans across Saudi Arabia tuned in to watch as the Ministry of Sport announced drastic changes to the domestic football scene, starting with the Public Investment Fund acquiring a majority stake in the nation’s top four clubs.

Excitement spread as Saudi Pro League clubs dreamt of big names from across the globe arriving to wear their colours.

Two months on, Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez, Ruben Neves and Sadio Mane arrived at Al Ittihad, Al Ahli, Al Hilal and Al Nassr, respectively.

Even beyond that stellar quartet, Ettifaq fans in the east celebrated the arrival of Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson and his predecessor Steven Gerrard as head coach. And, even in the second tier, Qadisiyah had cause for optimism as Robbie Fowler took over as their new boss.

But right at the heart of Riyadh’s busy Al Sahafa district, the wait continued.

Just as their home stadium has seemed days away from completion since June, and just as the trial runs of the Riyadh metro whizz along the King Fahd Road ahead of an unconfirmed opening day, the Al Shabab faithful continued to wait in vain for their share of the windfall.

Al Shabab have finished in the top four in each of the past three seasons. They are the fourth most successful side in the history of the league, with six titles to their name. Alongside Al Hilal and Al Ittihad, they are one of three teams to have won the league title three times in a row, doing so between 1990 and 1993, while their last league triumph came just over a decade ago when they won the 2011-12 title.

Saudi Arabia’s iconic 1994 World Cup goalscorer Saeed Al Owairan was a one-club man there, and the club produced 1990s heroes such as national team captain Fouad