The Saudi Pro League has suffered its latest embarrassment with another low attendances for a top tier match.
Footballers flocked to the Middle Eastern riches over the summer as they followed in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo - who made the switch last winter. However, the influx of talent hasn't quite produced the ticket sales many expected it would.
There was only 560 fans at the Prince Hathloul Sports City to see Al-Okhdood sink to a 2-1 loss to Damac FC. Romanian international Nicolae Stanciu was the pick of the performers, and he netted Damac's opener on Saturday afternoon.
READ MORE: 'I played in Saudi before mega money – it was difficult, we had to stay in our compound'
READ MORE: Saudi Pro League chiefs reviewing fan rules after incidents including player whipped
Join the Daily Star's WhatsApp for the sexiest headlines, showbiz gossip and lots more
The Daily Star is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join us!
Through the app, we'll send you the sassiest showbiz stories, some naught headline and a seismic smattering of aliens...along with the latest breaking news of course.
To join our community, all you have to do to join is click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in!
No one will be able to see who has sign up and no one can send messages except for the Daily Star team. We also treat our community members to competitions, special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Domagoj Antolic doubled their lead before Saeed Al-Rabiei pulled one back for the home side, in front of the tiny attendance.
Al Okhdood are relative new boys to the Saudi top flight and they don't boast many foreign superstars after only being promoted to the Pro League in 2021. Last month, just 294 rocked up to the King Salman Sport City Stadium to see them lose to Al-Fayha.
What do you think of the low attendances in the Saudi Pro League? Let us know in the comments section
And, amazingly, that tiny attendance isn't actually the smallest in the division this season. Back in September, a measly 281 fans watched Al Fayha's 3-1 win on the road against Al Riyadh.
Saudi has invested billions into boxing, football, tennis, F1 and golf to raise their status in the sporting world. In a previous interview with the BBC, Saudi Arabian sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal brushed off the low attendances by saying they are still early in the process.
"It's building blocks… I'm sure that next year we'll have more attendance," he said. "Like anywhere in the world there's some matches that attract much more audience than others, but all of our big matches have attracted record numbers so far… we're broadcasting to 147 countries around the world.
"When we planned to develop the league we never thought that we would do it with such pace, but to see that is actually refreshing and it actually showcases the importance of this. Our focus is to develop our league to attract the best in the world."
