RIYADH — The Saudi Professional League (SPL) matches will resume on Thursday after a two-month hiatus, due to the Saudi national team's participation in the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Al-Ittihad and Al-Wehda clubs have requested the postponement of their matches against Al-Shabab and Al-Fateh, respectively, due to the engagement of their players - Abdul Razzaq Hamdallah and Munir Mohamedi in the World Cup matches. They are members of the Moroccan national team, which qualified for the semi-finals of the World Cup. The postponement was virtually a crisis for the SPL, especially in light of the pressure of matches due to a two-month halt. However, the SPL Competitions Committee announced on Wednesday its decision to postpone two matches in the 9th round, in response to the requests made by Al-Ittihad and Al-Wehda clubs. It was decided to hold the Al-Shabab and Al-Ittihad match on January 9, but the new date conflicted with the date of the Al-Shabab match against Al-Nassr in the 13th round of the Saudi League, which was decided to officially change its date to be held on January 14 instead of 12th of the same month. According to Al-Riyadiah newspaper, Al-Nassr administration refused to postpone its team's match against Al-Shabab. The Al-Nassr management confirmed that there are no justifications that necessitate postponing the Al-Shabab match, and calls for playing at the scheduled time, as the new date will harm the team's subsequent matches. There are 16 clubs in the Saudi Professional League. During the course of a season, usually from August to May, each club plays the other clubs twice in a double round-robin system, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for 30 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. Teams are ranked by position on the league table depending on points; then the head-to-head record between the tied teams is taken into consideration, and then goal difference. A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Saudi Professional League and the Saudi First Division League. The three lowest placed teams in the SPL are relegated to the First Division, and the top three teams from the First Division are promoted to the SPL.
