Sunday, 12 July 2026

When I first started supporting Al Shabab in 1413 AH, I watched a team packed with stars, armed with spirit and combativeness, and this continued for decades. However, the situation changed, and it became certain that the only constant is change. The gradual decline began in 2015, until the team reached its lowest level this season. Al Shabab delivered its worst performance and results in 45 years since its promotion to the first division in the late 1970s, and was within two steps of relegation, were it not for the weak competition for the three relegation spots.

Out of 30 matches this season, the team scored only 38 goals, an average of 1.27 goals per match, the fourth worst scoring rate since the start of the professional league 19 years ago. In contrast, its net conceded 48 goals in 30 matches, an average of 1.60 goals per match, the worst in the team's history in the professional league, reflecting a clear imbalance in the technical system, both offensively and defensively.

What the team is experiencing this season is a cumulative effect of five combined factors that accumulated over the past four years (2022–2026). The first factor is the absence of administrative stability, as the club had five administrations in four years, a rare number not seen in the professional league for any other club. More surprisingly, two of these administrations, one was dissolved by the Ministry of Sports, and another had its mandate terminated by the same body. Most of these administrations suffered from weak sports expertise, failure to maximize available financial resources, and involvement in expensive contracts.

The second factor is technical instability, as the team had seven coaches from different coaching schools (two Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, Dutch, Croatian, and Algerian) in the same period (2022–2026), which greatly affected technical stability and led to a waste of a large part of financial resources due to constantly changing technical approaches.

The third factor is weak foreign signings, as these administrations contracted 28 foreign players in just four years, most for large sums, costing the club financial burdens without providing the required technical addition. According to Transfermarkt data, Al Shabab currently ranks sixth in market value among the 18 league clubs, despite competing for relegation and the weak performance of its foreign professionals, indicating a clear flaw in selection criteria, where market value seems to have become an alternative criterion to actual on-field performance, a strategic error that contributed to the team's decline.

The fourth factor is demolition versus weak construction. In addition to failing to select foreign players capable of continuity, the team lost many local talents and stars without adequate compensation, such as Hassan Tambakti, Mutab Al-Harbi, Turki Al-Ammar, Ali Majrashi, Hattan Bahebri, Nader Al-Sharari, Musab Al-Juwayr, and Hamed Al-Shanqiti, among others, at a time when successive administrations failed to capture local talents that were available at reasonable prices and later moved to rival clubs.

The fifth factor is loading the club with huge financial burdens due to ill-considered contracts, especially with foreign players. One previous administration contracted Carlos Junior with a large and unjustified four-year contract, then another administration made a huge contract with Habib Diallo, estimated to exceed 100 million. This was followed by the signing of Ukrainian goalkeeper Georgiy Buschan with an exaggerated contract, then other contracts with Josh Brøn-hill and Vincent Sierro. These ill-considered contracts drained financial resources and made it difficult to free up slots to register new players.

We come to the most important question: Can the course be corrected? The situation created by previous administrations has led to major complications and made the task of the current administration more difficult, with diminishing chances of success in the absence of the foundations of modern football, chief among them stability and good resource management. Therefore, the current administration cannot be held fully responsible, but it must work hard to achieve the administrative and technical stability that the team has lacked.

The optimal solution lies in privatizing the club and providing sustainable financial resources that contribute to rebuilding the team and leading it to podiums. A club of Al Shabab's size and history, which has won the league six times, been runner-up six times, and won Asian, Arab, and Gulf championships, and has been and continues to be a source of stars, should have been among the first clubs to be privatized, as it is a pillar of Saudi football.

Arabs and Peoples of the Middle East

If the club is not privatized, stability of the current administration for as long as possible is a urgent necessity to achieve administrative stability, along with strengthening the administrative structure with professional competencies that have genuine loyalty to the club, and excluding any practices that may put other interests above Al Shabab's interest. In addition, contracting a coach of high technical value becomes essential, provided he is familiar with the nature of the Saudi league, and able to handle its challenges and diverse playing styles.

A specialized committee of experts should also be formed to discover local talents in the Roshn League and the Yellow League, with the aim of strengthening the first team with promising elements and contributing to building a balanced team on solid foundations. There are many young players in other clubs who deserve to be discovered and given a chance, which requires moving away from worn-out names that no longer provide the required technical addition. Similarly, the need arises to form another specialized committee to study foreign signings, so that players are selected according to precise criteria that fit the available financial capabilities.

Every foreign player contracted in the future should have a set of basic specifications, including being at the peak of his technical performance, possessing high skills appropriate to his position, having a winning culture, not having a worrying injury record, in addition to having appropriate physical strength, discipline inside and outside the field, ability to adapt to playing under pressure, as well as proficiency in teamwork. Given the current situation, the majority of foreign players representing the team do not meet these criteria, raising the need to reassess their continuation, especially if a budget allows for the required change.

Among the mistakes that should not be repeated in the future is squandering the team's stars, especially local players, as previous experiences indicate that the club did not optimally benefit from the financial returns from their sale, but was clearly affected technically. Future player loans should also be conditional on an option to buy the contract, to avoid losing distinctive elements as happened in previous cases such as Musab Al-Juwayr and Hamad Al-Yami, where there was an opportunity to benefit from their services permanently, but weak administrative expertise prevented that.