From CR7's unveiling to the Supercoppa Italiana: The story of Alawwal Park | OneFootball

On January 3, 2023, the eyes of the sports world were on Alawwal Park, millions transfixed on the unveiling of Cristiano Ronaldo. Forget the Santiago Bernabéu, Old Trafford, or San Siro – on that night, it was the most famous football stadium on earth.

Since his presentation in front of a 25,000-capacity crowd, Ronaldo has called Alawwal Park home as captain of Roshn Saudi League (RSL) giants Al Nassr.

Post Ronaldo’s arrival to Saudi Arabia, many of the world’s leading players followed suit. Among the team-mates to line up next to Ronaldo at Alawwal Park include Spanish defender Aymeric Laporte, a five-time Premier League champion with Manchester City, and Sadio Mane, the Senegalese winger who won multiple trophies with Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

Alawwal Park has during its short history staged some of the biggest and most iconic matches in global football – and continued to do so, starting this weekend with the Supercoppa Italiana.

Italy may have been the first, but it is not the only heavyweight football nation to take its Super Cup to Saudi. Spain struck its own deal in 2019 to move the Supercopa de Espana to Saudi and expanded the format to four teams, with four of the past five editions staged in the Kingdom.

The most recent edition was held at Alawwal Park less than 12 months ago when a Vinícius Júnior hat-trick led Real Madrid to a 4-1 win over rivals Barcelona.

Beyond hosting the Italian and Spanish Super Cups, several more tournaments and memorable matches have put Alawwal Park on the global football map.

Officially opened in May 2015, the stadium was initially the home of Al Nassr’s rivals Al Hilal, who were tenants for three seasons from the start of 2017/18 until the end of 2019/20.

Al Hilal dominated Saudi football last season, going unbeaten domestically to win the treble. But even before assembling arguably the strongest squad in Asian football history, Al Hilal were serial winners, including during their stint at Alawwal Park.

📸 Yasser Bakhsh - 2024 Getty Images

Al Hilal won the RSL title in their first and third seasons at the stadium as well as the King’s Cup – Saudi’s equivalent of the FA Cup – in 2020. The ground also played host to the first leg of the 2019 AFC Champions League final. Al Hilal won that match 1-0 before claiming a 2-0 victory in Saitama for the third of their record for Asian titles.

That same month, in November 2019, Alawwal Park welcomed two of world football’s biggest national teams to play out the next chapter of their legendary rivalry. Brazil and Argentina contested the 2019 Superclásico de las Américas at the Riyadh stadium, with none other than Lionel Messi scoring the decisive goal in a 1-0 win.

Two years later, in December 2021, another Argentina legend, Diego Maradona, was honoured at Alawwal Park in a match between two of his former clubs, Barcelona and Boca Juniors. The match was played one year after his tragic death and ended with Boca collecting the Maradona Cup by winning the penalty shootout 4-2 after the teams drew 1-1 in regular time.

Another noteworthy match to mention took place in March last year when Egyptian giants Al Ahly and Zamalek – whose rivalry matches any in world football – played the Egyptian Cup final at Alawwal Park. Two late goals saw Al Ahly win the Cup for the 39th time.

With football’s future looking bright in Saudi Arabia, Alawwal Park is set to add more chapters to its story. The stadium has been named as one of the eight venues for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, while of course, the biggest sports event on earth will make its way to the Kingdom in 10 years’ time.

Following the confirmation of Saudi Arabia as hosts for the 2034 FIFA World Cup, it was announced that 11 new stadiums would be built to cater for the tournament. Of the four existing venues chosen to host matches, Alawwal Park was one and will be expanded to 46,319 seats, signifying its continued importance within Saudi Arabia’s football evolution.

📸 Yasser Bakhsh - 2023 Getty Images