Al Hilal was born in Riyadh in October 1957, and the club itself celebrates its birthday every year on 16 October. On 16 October 2027 Al Za'eem, "the Leader", turns 70. And yet the club took its first steps under a completely different name.

A split that gave birth to a club

In 1957 a bitter dispute in the leadership of Riyadh's Youth Club led its president, Abdulrahman bin Saeed, to resign. Many members and important players left with him, and that opened the way for a new first-class club in the city.

The new team was first called Al Olympi, "the Olympic". Abdulrahman bin Saeed is regarded as the pioneer of organised sport in central Saudi Arabia.

A name from the king

In late 1958 King Saud watched a tournament in Riyadh during a visit by the Emir of Kuwait. According to the King Saud Library, when he heard the name "Olympi" he was displeased, because he wanted clubs to have Arabic rather than foreign names.

He was offered three: Al Yamamah, Al Wahda and Al Hilal, and he chose the third. Hilal means "crescent moon", and the official renaming is recorded in early December 1958.

Blue, white and a hidden "H"

The club's colours are blue and white. According to Saudipedia, they were chosen to set the team apart from the other clubs, and they also gave rise to nicknames such as the "Blue Waves".

The old badge showed a ball inside a crescent, with the name and the founding year. In 2022 a simpler crest arrived: three vertical blue stripes with crescents, where the white negative space forms an "H" for Hilal and a subtle "S" for Saudi.

The club's mascot is a shark. And for its 2026 birthday the team released a special anniversary shirt.

A Brazilian touch and Asian thrones

The first league title came in 1977. In the 1970s two Brazilian legends also arrived in Riyadh, Rivellino and Mário Zagallo, who as coach led the team to the 1979 title.

Asian triumphs followed: Al Hilal won the AFC Champions League in 1991, 2000, 2019 and 2021. In 2019 they beat Urawa 3-0 on aggregate in the final, with Bafétimbi Gomis as top scorer, and with the fourth trophy in 2021 they became the competition's most successful club.

At home they have 21 league titles, a national record. Great names in their history include Sami Al-Jaber, goalkeeper Mohamed Al-Deayea, Yasser Al-Qahtani and Salem Al-Dawsari.

Neymar, a Guinness record and the night against City

In February 2023 Al Hilal reached the Club World Cup final and lost 5-3 to Real Madrid. In August of the same year they brought Neymar from PSG for a Saudi league record fee.

In 2023-24, with Jorge Jesus on the bench, they won 34 games in a row across all competitions, a world record recognised by Guinness. The run ended in April 2024 with a 4-2 defeat to Al Ain.

In the summer of 2025, in Orlando, they knocked Manchester City out of the Club World Cup 4-3 after extra time, with two goals from Marcos Leonardo. In 2025-26, with Simone Inzaghi as coach, they finished second in the Saudi Pro League and won the King's Cup, and since 2024 their home has been Riyadh's Kingdom Arena.

Celebrate with us

From a split in a Riyadh club and a name chosen by the king himself, Al Hilal became the most successful team in Asia. Happy 70th birthday to the blue crescent!

See our collectible jerseys at sportarena.gr.

Photo: Kingdom Arena during Al Hilal vs Al Ahli – بندر الساري, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC0 1.0.