King's Cup (Saudi Arabia) Explained

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' Cup
Number Of Teams:32
Region:Saudi Arabia
Organiser:Saudi Arabia Football Federation (SAFF)
Current Champions:Al-Hilal (11th title)
Most Successful Club:Al-Ahli (13 titles)
Current:2024–25 King Cup
Domestic Cup:Saudi Super Cup
Qualifier For:AFC Champions League Two

The King Cup (sometimes spelled King's Cup) (ar|كأس الملك|''kass al-malik''),[1] officially known as The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' Cup (ar|كأس خادم الحرمين الشريفين|''kass khadim al-haramayn al-sharifayn''), is the Saudi Arabian football knockout cup competition.

The King's Cup is the second oldest knockout competition in Saudi Arabian football.

History

The cup was created in 1957 and was played until 1990. It was re-launched again in 2007 as "King's Cup of Champions", and was played by only the top 6 finishers of the Saudi Pro League plus the Crown Prince Cup and Federation Cup winners. In 2014 it was renamed as "King's Cup", the competition returned to its roots by implementing the old format.[2]

Qualification and prize money

The cup winner will be guaranteed a place in the AFC Champions League Two.[3] If the cup winner finishes in the top 3 in the Saudi Pro League, which means they will go to the AFC Champions League Elite, the slot goes to the fourth placed team in the table

Prize money:

Winners

List of Winners
Year Winners
King's Cup
1957Al-Wehda (1)
1958Al-Ittihad (1)
1959Al-Ittihad (2)
1960Al-Ittihad (3)
1961Al-Hilal (1)
1962Al-Ahli (1)
1963Al-Ittihad (4)
1964Al-Hilal (2)
1965Al-Ahli (2)
1966Al-Wehda (2)
1967Al-Ittihad (5)
1968Al-Ettifaq (1)
1969Al-Ahli (3)
1970Al-Ahli (4)
1971Al-Ahli (5)
1972Not held
1973Al-Ahli (6)
1974Al-Nassr (1)
1975Not held [4]
1976Al-Nassr (2)
1977Al-Ahli (7)
1978Al-Ahli (8)
1979Al-Ahli (9)
1980Al-Hilal (3)
1981Al-Nassr (3)
1982Al-Hilal (4)
1983Al-Ahli (10)
1984Al-Hilal (5)
1985Al-Ettifaq (2)
1986Al-Nassr (4)
1987Al-Nassr (5)
1988Al-Ittihad (6)
1989Al-Hilal (6)
1990Al-Nassr (6)
1991–2007Not held
King Cup of Champions
2008Al-Shabab (1)
2009Al-Shabab (2)
2010Al-Ittihad (7)
2011Al-Ahli (11)
2012Al-Ahli (12)
2013Al-Ittihad (8)
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' Cup
2014Al-Shabab (3)
2015Al-Hilal (7)
2016Al-Ahli (13)
2017Al-Hilal (8)
2018Al-Ittihad (9)
2019Al-Taawoun (1)
2020Al-Hilal (9)
2021Al-Faisaly (1)
2022Al-Fayha (1)
2023Al-Hilal (10)
2024Al-Hilal (11)

Performance by club

Trophies

ClubWinnersWinning years
Al-Ahli1962, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1983, 2011, 2012, 2016[5]
Al-Hilal1961, 1964, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1989, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2023, 2024
Al-Ittihad1958, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1967, 1988, 2010, 2013, 2018
Al-Nassr1974, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1990
Al-Shabab2008, 2009, 2014
Al-Wehda1957, 1966
Al-Ettifaq1968, 1985
Al-Taawoun2019
Al-Faisaly2021
Al-Fayha2022
Total
Source:[6] [7]

Finals

ClubFinalistsFinals years
Al-Hilal1961, 1963, 1964, 1968, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024
Al-Ittihad1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1979, 1982, 1986, 1988, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2018, 2019
Al-Ahli1962, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1984, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017
Al-Nassr1967, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2024
Al-Wehda1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1966, 1970, 2023
Al-Ettifaq1965, 1966, 1968, 1983, 1985, 1988
Al-Shabab1969, 1980, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014
Al-Taawoun1990, 2019, 2021
Al-Riyadh1962, 1978
Al-Faisaly2018, 2021
Al-Fayha2022
Total
Source:[6] [7]

All-time Top goalscorers

width=150 Playerwidth=150 NationalityClub(s)Goals
1Majed Abdullah Saudi ArabiaAl-Nassr39
2Amin Dabou Saudi Arabia28
3Abderrazak HamdallahAl-Nassr (17), Al-Ittihad (6), Al-Shabab (2)25
4Nasser Al-Shamrani
Ahmed Al-Sogaier
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Al-Hilal (4), Al-Shabab (16)
Al-Ahli (20)
20
5Mukhtar Fallatah Saudi ArabiaAl-Ittihad (11), Al-Wehda (7)18
6Léandre TawambaAl-Taawoun (12), Al-Tai (2)14
7Hussam Abu Dawood
Omar Al-Somah
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Al-Ahli (12),
Al-Ahli (12)
12

Hat-tricks

PlayerForAgainstScoreDate
Youssef AnbarOhodAl-Nahda4–111 May 1989
Saad Al-HarthiAl-NassrAl-Ahli3–05 April 2010
Victor SimõesAl-AhliAl-Nassr3–19 April 2010
Mokhtar FallatahAl-WehdaAl-Ettifaq4–311 January 2011
Nasser Al-ShamraniAl-HilalAl-Faisaly3–11 May 2015
Al-NassrAl-Diriyah7–020 January 2016
Patrick EzeAl-Safa4–020 January 2017
Ismael BangouraAl-RaedAl-Jabalain3–021 January 2017
Omar KharbinAl-HilalAl-Taawoun4–313 May 2017
Mohammed Al-SaiariAl-EttifaqAl-Tai6–03 January 2018
Abderrazak HamdallahAl-NassrAl-Jandal6–03 January 2019
Ahmed Abdu Jaber4Al-WehdaAl-Nairyah6–13 January 2019
Gelmin RivasAl-HilalAl-Dera'a9–05 January 2019
Bafetimbi Gomis4
Abderrazak Hamdallah4Al-NassrAl-Ansar5–018 January 2019
Hazaa Al-HazaaAl-EttifaqAl-Amjad9–118 January 2019
Abderrazak HamdallahAl-NassrAl-Fayha6–021 January 2019
Carolus Andriamatsinoro5Al-AdalahAl-Rawdhah8–05 December 2019
Abderrazak HamdallahAl-NassrDamac4–224 December 2019
Mohammed Al-KwikbiAl-EttifaqOhod7–13 January 2020
Julio TavaresAl-FaisalyAl-Taawoun3–229 May 2021

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Official SAFF site in English . 23 September 2021 . 18 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210918113429/https://saff.com.sa/en/championships.php . live .
  2. Web site: بيان: موافقة على تغيير نظامي كأس الملك وولي العهد. TheSAFF.com.sa. 18 September 2013. 17 May 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160306062719/http://thesaff.com.sa/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsID=5444. 6 March 2016. dead.
  3. Web site: لائحة المسابقات والبطولات بالإتحاد العربي السعودي لكرة القدم. Regulations of Saudi Arabian Football Federation Competitions. Saudi Arabian Football Federation. ar. PDF. 30 April 2016. 20 August 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180820105602/http://adm.thesaff.com.sa//App_Layout/pdf/Competitions%20Rules%20-%202015.pdf. dead.
  4. The King's Cup was not held in 1975 due to the national mourning following the passing of King Faisal.
  5. ALAHLI_FC. 1593651351317319680. سجل بطولات الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي الاهلي . ar.
  6. Web site: Saudi Arabia - List of Cup Winners . 2023-02-02 . 2022-08-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220803151707/https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/saucuphist.html . live .
  7. Web site: Saudi King Cup of Champions's history . 2019-10-13 . 2011-11-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111121043928/http://goalzz.com/main.aspx?g=796 . live .