Al Ittihad FC

Overview

Al-Ittihad Club, commonly known as Al-Ittihad, or simply Ittihad (Arabic: نادي الاتحاد), is a Saudi Arabian professional association football club based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1927, the club competes in the Saudi Pro League, the top tier of football in Saudi Arabia, and is one of three clubs to have spent its entire history in the top flight without ever being relegated. Ittihad matches are played at Jeddah's main stadium King Abdullah Sports City, which is the second-largest stadium in Saudi Arabia, accommodating 66,345 spectators. Al-Ittihad has a long-standing rivalry with Al-Hilal, which is referred to as Saudi El Clasico, and is considered the most prominent and most watched annual match. Founded in 1927, it is the oldest sports club still surviving in Saudi Arabia. The most successful period in the club history was the 1990s and the 2000s, when the club achieved a large number of titles and achievements domestically, regionally, and globally, culminating in the club securing the 4th place in the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship. Ittihad is one of the most successful Asian club at domestic and continental level, as they have achieved the AFC Champions League Elite title twice in a row (the first to do so), the Asian Cup Winners' Cup, the GCC Champions League and the Arab Champions League title each once. Domestically, Ittihad is also one of two successful clubs in Saudi Arabia, having won fourteen league titles, six King's Cup titles, eight Crown Prince Cup titles, three Saudi Federation Cup titles and one Saudi Super Cup.