Al-Ettifaq

The 1982/83 season stands apart from anything else in Al-Ettifaq's history: the club took the Saudi title without losing a match. A second championship followed four years later, in 1986/87. The Kings Cup came twice as well, in 1968 and again in 1985.

The club itself grew out of a merger in 1945, when three sides from Dammam — Al-Taawoun, Ash-Shaab and Ash-Shabab — combined under a name that translates roughly as "agreement." It never moved and never renamed, staying put in the Eastern Province through eight decades. Khalil Al-Zayani, who came up through the academy and led the side from 1962 to 1971, went on to become the first Saudi manager to win the league title himself.

The home ground, now called EGO Stadium after a 2024 sponsorship deal, opened in 1983 and holds 12,924 following a rebuild finished in 2023. The arrival of Steven Gerrard as manager brought a wave of attention few Saudi clubs outside the very top had seen, and with him came Jordan Henderson, arriving from Liverpool.

Green and red now define the shirt, though the club wore green and white for most of its history. Its nickname, Faris Ad-Dahna — the Knight of the Red Sand Desert — points to the terrain around Dammam.

No fixture matters more than the one against Al-Qadsiah.