الهلال
Riyadh professional football club founded in 1957 and playing in the Saudi Pro League. Kingdom Holding Company completed the purchase of 70 percent of its club company from the Public Investment Fund in September 2026.
Industry: Professional football | Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Founded: 1957
About الهلال
Al-Hilal is a professional football club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that plays in the Saudi Pro League. The football business is run through Al Hilal Club Company. It plays at Kingdom Arena, which opened in 2024.
The club's history page says it began in October 1957 as Al-Olympi Club and became Al-Hilal after King Saud chose the name from three suggestions. It credits Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Saeed with founding the club. Wikipedia counts a record 21 league titles and four AFC Champions League titles, won in 1991, 2000, 2019 and 2021, and says the club lost the 2022 Club World Cup final to Real Madrid 5-3 in February 2023.
Ownership has changed in stages. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) took 75 percent of the club in June 2023 under the Sports Clubs Investment and Privatisation Project, with a non-profit foundation holding the rest, Sportcal reported. In April 2026 Kingdom Holding Company signed a binding agreement to buy 70 percent of Al Hilal Club Company from the PIF for SAR 840 million, valuing the club's equity at SAR 1.2 billion, Enterprise reported. Inside World Football reported that the foundation's 25 percent went to the PIF about two weeks before the deal closed, leaving the PIF with 30 percent after the sale. On 9 September 2026 the club company held its first general assembly since the acquisition and elected a board chaired by Prince Nawaf bin Saad, with Abdulmajeed Al-Haqbani as vice chairman.
Esteve Calzada represented the club as chief executive at the signing of a three-season main partnership with NHC Group in July 2026, under which the NHC logo appears on the shirts of all football and academy teams. In August 2023 ASFAR, the Saudi Tourism Investment Company and a PIF portfolio company, became an official sponsor for three seasons through 2025-26, Arab News reported.
In the 2025-26 season Al-Hilal finished second in the Saudi Pro League, two points behind Al-Nassr, Khaleej Times reported.
Leadership
- Abdulmajeed Al-Haqbani, Vice Chairman
- Esteve Calzada, Chief Executive Officer