Al-Ahli
Jeddah professional football club founded in 1937 and playing in the Saudi Pro League. Its club company is owned by the Public Investment Fund, and it won consecutive AFC Champions League Elite titles in 2025 and 2026.
Industry: Professional football | Location: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | Founded: 1937
About Al-Ahli
Al-Ahli Saudi Football Club is a professional football club based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that plays in the Saudi Pro League. Its home ground is King Abdullah Sports City, which seats about 62,000, according to Wikipedia.
The club's history page says Al-Ahli was founded in 1937 by a group of young men in Jeddah and names thirteen founders, including members of the Shams and Batterjee families. The club says it set up the first football academy in Saudi Arabia, that its football team won the league and the King's Cup in 2016, and that in 2009 King Abdullah gave it the title Ambassador of the Nation. Wikipedia says Al-Ahli was relegated for the first time in 2021-22 and returned after winning the 2022-23 First Division League.
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 remaining 25 percent, Sportcal reported. In August 2026 the sports ministry said it had begun moving the foundation stakes in Al-Ahli and three other clubs to the PIF, according to MENA Startup Digest.
In June 2023 Red Sea Global, a PIF company, became the club's platinum sponsor, and in August 2026 the partnership was renewed for the 2026-27 season with AMAALA taking the front of the first-team shirt, TradeArabia reported. In July 2023 the club also agreed a three-year partnership with the Saudi Company for Artificial Intelligence, a PIF subsidiary, covering the seasons through 2025-26, Arab News reported.
Fabrice Bocquet became chief executive in January 2026. He had been chief executive of OGC Nice from 2022 and earlier worked at McKinsey and at Portas Consulting, where he advised the Saudi Football Federation, the Saudi Pro League and several clubs. Goal reported on 29 July 2026 that chairman Khaled Al-Ghamdi had resigned after three years, during which the club won two consecutive AFC Champions League Elite titles and the Saudi Super Cup. Jarayid reported on 6 October 2026 that Abdullah bin Eidrous Al-Sabban had taken over as chairman.
Leadership
- Abdullah bin Eidrous Al-Sabban, Chairman of the Board
- Fabrice Bocquet, Chief Executive Officer
- Abdulrahman Almohamadi, Chief Financial Officer
- Amir Mohamed Tawfik, Chief Commercial Officer
- Zuhair Ibrahim Almaghrabi, Chief Shared Services Officer
- Alaa Abdrabbo, Other Sports Director