Europe’s biggest clubs may not pay much attention to Saudi Arabia’s second division, but a new and curious force in the international transfer market is emerging from that league. Neom Sports Club (SC) have not only never played a top tier game before but also represent a city that does not yet exist.
Neom won promotion to the Saudi Pro League last week and will, from next season, take their place alongside the so-called ‘Big Four’: Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr of Riyadh, and Jeddah giants Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli. This group, home to Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Riyad Mahrez, are to become the ‘Big Five’. That is because Neom SC belong to the planned futuristic urban area of Neom, backed by the Public Investment Fund behind the aforementioned quartet, as well as Newcastle.
Construction on this $500bn megaproject in the sparsely populated north-west of Saudi Arabia has started. The centrepiece of it all isthe Line, a sub-city planned to be 110 miles (170km) long, 1,600 ft (500m) high and 660 ft (200m) long that cuts through the desert. There will be no need for cars; everything will be within a five-minute walk and, if not, high-speed shuttles will whisk people from one end to the other in 20 minutes.
“The Line redefines the concept of urban development and what cities of the future will look like,” says the official site, which also explained the meaning behind the name of Neom. A list of 2,000 suggestions was whittled down to one that starts with the ancient Greek word for “new” and ends with “the first letter of the Arabic word for future [mustaqbal], and also the first letter of the name of HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman”. Prince Mohammed is the man behind the project, part of his Vision 2030, designed to diversify an economy that has been reliant on oil for decades.
Such a massive undertaking requires about 60,000 construction workers, many from overseas. Human Rights groups have expressed concerns about conditions, contracts and safety. The response is that contracts are in line with international standards, but criticism is not only focused on how foreigners are treated. While the region has been described as remote, there have been reports of villagers and tribes being forcibly evicted in order to make way.
While there have been reports of the project being scaled back, the plan is for 9 million people to call Neom home. At the start of the next decade there will be 300,000 residents there and soon after that a new stadium because Neom will host games at the 2034 World Cup. This 46,000-capacity arena will, according to the organisers, contain a “pitch situated 350 meters above ground, stunning vistas and a roof created from the city itself”.
The club’s current home in Tabuk, 130 miles (209km) to the east, is more modest and for almost 60 years Al-Suqoor bounced around the lower leagues before they were taken over in 2023, renamed and rebranded. At some point in the next decade they will make the move west as, all going to plan, one of the biggest clubs in Asia.
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Promotion was the first step. Even in the second tier there were familiar names. Saudi Arabia internationals such as Salman al-Faraj, the captain of the 2022 World Cup team and others members of that squad, such as Mohammed al-Burayk and Riyadh Sharahili, played their parts in promotion. There were talented foreigners, too. Ahmed Hegazi, the former West Brom defender, won the league title with Al-Ittihad before stepping down a division. The Egyptian is a big name in the Arab world and the same can be said of Saïd Benrahma. The ex-West Ham forward was on loan from Lyon in a move made permanent when promoted was confirmed.
That was done with four games of the season to spare thanks to a 3-0 win at Al-Arabi. And conducting from the sidelines is Péricles Chamusca, a Brazilian with a CV containing more than 30 managerial posts and success at unfashionable Saudi Arabian clubs Al-Taawoun and Al-Faisaly, where he won the King’s Cup in 2021.
Chamusca’s current club wants bigger prizes. A top-three finish next season and, eventually, a continental title and a place at the next Fifa Club World Cup. That means significant investment, but the money is there. Kevin De Bruyne said recently that he was “a bit surprised” not to be offered a new contract at Manchester City. It would not be much of one if he was offered a deal to play in Tabuk. In the Saudi Arabian media, there have been links to Arsenal’s Jorginho and Manchester United’s André Onana.
The concept of Neom as a city may be a little hard to get to grips with, but that of Neom as a club is more easily understood. A Saudi Arabian team making waves in the transfer market is a familiar story.