Saudi Pro League: Passion and support of fans crucial to fulfilling grand ambitions

“I cannot tell you how many calls or messages I got last night,” Saudi Pro League Director of Football Michael Emenalo told the press after the opening match of the season between Al Ahli and Al Hazem.

“Players stayed up to watch this game because they wanted to see and after they saw it, thinking, ‘You know what, it’s not what I expected, and I would love to be part of it'."

From Cristiano Ronaldo to Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez and more, the names arrivng to the Saudi Pro League are known to all, but it was the atmosphere at games, the passion of the fans and the experience of playing in the country that made the difference for those players who had their agents pick up the phone and reach out to Emenalo.

Last Friday, Al Ahli had the backing of 24,000 fans in the stands of Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in Jeddah on their return to the top-flight after a season in the First Division League.

Wearing the captain’s armband, Roberto Firmino took in the atmosphere, he was seen nodding his head in approval. For a man who has spent the previous few seasons playing in front of the famed Anfield crowd and celebrating in front of the Kop, to be impressed by Al Ahli fans was no mean feat.

Allan Saint-Maximin shared multiple videos of his new club’s fans, particularly being impressed by their latest chant "Shkon Antoma", inspired by the Algerian dialect for “Who are you?” in honour of Mahrez and featuring the former Newcastle United man’s last name.

With all three of the other big four, Al Hilal, Al Ittihad and Al Nassr, playing their opening games on the road, there was not much more to see in terms of big-game atmosphere, but the King Salman Cup final between Al Hilal and Al Nassr in Abha demonstrated more of the passion as