DAILY STAR
The poor attendances at Saudi Pro League games are showing no sign of slowing down.
Despite having the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Roberto Firmino and many more grace their league, fan support in the Middle East country has been notoriously bad.
The latest offenders have been supporters of Al-Riyadh, with just 299 people turning up at their home clash against Damac on Thursday (December 28).
The lack of fans travelling to Al-Riyadh has been a consistent theme all season long. Earlier this month, only 144 fans turned up to see watch them in action against Al-Khaleej, a game they lost 1-0. Quite stunningly, even less fans bothered going to a prior game where 133 supporters cheered on the struggling Saudi outfit.
There’s no doubt that the Saudi Pro League aims to not only challenge Europe’s top football leagues but best them in the next few years. However, building a large and consistent fan base is certainly harder than it looks as the league continues to struggle in that respect.
According to Transfermarkt’s average attendance figures for the Saudi Pro League this season, more than half the league has attendances under the 10,000 figure mark, with Al-Riyadh ranking dead last with an average of around 1,515 fans a game.
