After that, the Saudi Federation decided to merge the football league with the King's Cup into one tournament, adding the Golden Box.

The Golden Box was an end-of-season knockout competition played between the top four teams of the regular league season.

The nation's Public Investment Fund took 75% stakes in four founding members (Al-Ahli, Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal, and Al-Nassr) in the same year as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 program.

Clubs competed in their regional leagues to qualify for the King's Cup, which was the final stage of the competition.

As of 2024, depending on the nation's coefficient, three teams from Saudi Arabia qualify for the AFC Champions League Elite annually.

[4] The nation's Public Investment Fund took 75% stakes in four founding members (Al-Ahli, Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal, and Al-Nassr) in June 2023 as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 program.

[5] These actions have been criticised by many sporting journalists and human rights activists, who have described the transfers as part of a sportswashing scheme by the Saudi government.

[6][7] Cristiano Ronaldo was the first star signing to the league, with the BBC deeming that he led this "revolution" in Asian football.

[9] Other players who joined the league include Ballon d'Or-holder Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kanté, Roberto Firmino, Sergej Milinković-Savić, Sadio Mané, Riyad Mahrez and Jordan Henderson.

Teams are ranked on the league table based on points first, then head-to-head record in case of a tie, followed by goal difference.

This merger was driven by concerns over World Cup qualifying, as Saudi Arabia sought to strengthen its domestic competition and provide more opportunities for players to develop ahead of international fixtures.

The playoff system served as an end-of-season competition, adding an extra layer of excitement to the league.

The league still used the round-robin format during the regular season, but after that, the top 4 teams advanced to the playoffs, which were held to determine the champion.

The playoff system meant that even if a team finished first in the regular season, they still had to win the knockout rounds (including semi-finals and final) to be crowned champion.

League Format (2007–Present) In 2006–07, the playoff system was still in use, with the top 4 teams advancing to knockout rounds to decide the champion.

In 2007–08, the league switched to the traditional format, where the team finishing first in the regular season was crowned champion, and the playoffs were abolished.

This rebranding formalized the shift to a traditional system where the top team in the regular season is crowned champion, and the playoffs were abolished.