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Club history

Six decades of the “Leader of the South”: from an idea of Abha’s youth in 1947 to the Roshn Saudi League.

Club names

  1. Al Farouq 1966
  2. Al Wadeeah 1972
  3. Abha 1999

Milestones

  1. 1947

    Start

    Abdullah Al-Muallimi proposed founding a sports club where Abha’s youth could play football; they played without an official club until 1960.

  2. 1960

    Founding meeting

    Those present agreed to found a sports, educational and social club in Abha, but disagreed on its name between “Al Ahli” and “Asir Youth Union”, so two clubs were formed in the city.

  3. 1966

    Official registration

    The club was officially registered as Al Farouq Sports Club, with Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al-Nuami as its first official president.

  4. 1968

    Al Siddiq

    The city’s other club changed its name to Al Siddiq.

  5. 1969

    Merger

    Al Farouq and Al Siddiq merged into one club named Al Farouq, chaired by Sheikh Suleiman bin Ahmed Mimesh.

  6. 1972

    Al Wadeeah

    Renamed Al Wadeeah Club at the suggestion of Prince Khalid Al-Faisal on his appointment as Emir of Asir.

  7. 1977

    First promotion to the First Division

    Al Wadeeah reached the First Division for the first time, returning in 1983 and 1994.

  8. 1999

    Abha Club

    Renamed Abha Club; the team won the Third Division and was promoted to the Second.

  9. 2000

    Second Division champions

    The team won the Second Division title and was promoted to the First Division.

  10. 2005

    First promotion to the top flight

    Abha reached the top flight for the first time after finishing runners-up in the First Division, then won promotion again in 2008.

  11. 2018

    Back to the First Division

    Abha were promoted to the First Division after beating Al Watani in the play-off.

  12. 2019

    Title and third promotion

    Abha were promoted to the Pro League for the third time and won the First Division title for the first time.

  13. 2020

    Best season

    The team achieved its best Pro League finish (ninth) and reached the King’s Cup semi-final for the first time.

  14. 2024

    Relegation

    The team was relegated to the Yelo League after the 2023–2024 season.

  15. 2026

    Yelo League champions

    Abha won the Yelo League with 77 points and returned to the Roshn League after two seasons away.

Club presidents through history

  1. 1
    General Yahya Al-Muallimi Unopposed
  2. 2
    Mohammed bin Abdullah Humaid Unopposed
  3. 3
    Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Nuami President of Al Ahli, then Al Farouq
  4. 4
    Ahmed Ibrahim Mataan Unopposed
  5. 5
    Suleiman bin Habtar Unopposed
  6. 6
    Aziz bin Aziz President of Al Ittihad, then Al Siddiq
  7. 7
    Dhafer Mohammed Al-Obaidi Unopposed
  8. 8
    Mohammed Rashid (Al-Abhawi) Unopposed
  9. 9
    Khaled Mohammed Sheikho Unopposed
  10. 10
    Suleiman Ahmed Mimesh President of Al Farouq
  11. 11
    Mohammed Saleh Al-Fawaz Unopposed
  12. 12
    Abdulrahman Abu Malhah 1400–1404 AH
  13. 13
    Eng. Hani Abu Ghazaleh 1405–1408 AH
  14. 14
    Saleh bin Hussein Qadah 1408–1411 AH
  15. 15
    Mustafa Aziz 1411–1413 AH
  16. 16
    Dr Hamad Al-Dosari 1413–1416 AH and 1422–1425 AH
  17. 17
    Abdulwahab Al Mujathil 1417–1422 AH, 1425–1426 AH and 1429 AH
  18. 18
    Mashafi Al-Maqrafi 1426 AH
  19. 19
    Dr Abdulrahman Fasil 1426–1428 AH
  20. 20
    Saad bin Hamid Al-Ahmari 1428–1429 AH, 1430–1434 AH and 1446 AH to date
  21. 21
    Dr Ahmed Al-Hudaithi 1434–1446 AH