Fans feared it was going to take over football – but Saudi Pro League sides are struggling to even half-fill a lot of their stadiums.
The Middle Eastern division made several huge statements in the January and summer transfer windows of 2023. After signing Cristiano Ronaldo, they also went on to sway the likes of Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and many more over to the kingdom.
But despite the many glamorous arrivals, who are being paid through the nose for their services, the division has recorded many awful attendances this season. So much so that the lowest ever capacity crowd ever recorded in a Premier League match – 3,039 – is still higher than many Saudi side's average weekly attendance.
READ MORE: Saudi Pro League attendance embarrassment continues as just 144 turn up for game
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In 1993, a freezing cold January Tuesday night clash at Selhurst Park saw Everton overcome Wimbledon 3-1. At the time, the Premier League was still in its infancy and was far away from being the global, sporting powerhouse it is now.
Moreover, Wimbledon were also sharing the stadium with Crystal Palace fans, after Plough Lane was deemed to be unfit to host football matches in the eyes of the Taylor Report – the inquiry which was launched after the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989. It's understood there were just as many away supporters as there were home ones in the stadium.
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Despite this tiny attendance being the lowest of the Premier League low, it is still nearly 20-times more than some of the attendances in the Saudi Pro League. As recently as December 16, only 144 fans turned up to watch Al-Riyadh's clash with Al-Khaleej.
Moreover, the tiny number of fans at Selhurst Park 30 years ago was also higher than the average attendance of five clubs in the Saudi division today. According to Transfermarkt, Al-Fayha FC (2,975), Al-Hazem SC (2,803), Abha Club (2,543), Al-Okhdood Club (2,327) and Al-Riyadh SC (1,515) all average lower gate numbers than that cold night in 1993.
When pushed on some of the tiny attendances in the division this season, Saudi Arabian sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal told the BBC: "It's building blocks… I'm sure that next year we'll have more attendance.
"Like anywhere in the world there's some matches that attract much more audience than others, but all of our big matches have attracted record numbers so far."
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