According to their official budgets for the previous fiscal year, only five Arab football clubs—Al-Fateh, Al-Hilal, and Al-Faisali from Saudi Arabia, as well as Al-Wydad and Nahdet Berkane from Morocco—were able to achieve a financial surplus; the remaining Arab clubs all had deficits, according to the report “The Financial East of Arab Clubs”.
The report, published by Al-Sharq News, sheds light on the financial conditions of the football activity in Arab clubs, their financial capabilities, and the efficiency of spending in this sport.
The richest ones
Saudi clubs Al-Fateh and Al-Hilal’s achieved the highest financial surplus among Arab clubs. Al-Fateh achieved a financial surplus of $8.75 million, with total revenue of $44.5 million, ranking sixth among Arab teams with the highest revenues, in exchange for $35.75 million in expenses.
Al-Hilal, which has the highest revenue among Arab clubs, with a value of $132.5 million, and the second highest expenditure, behind its rival Al-Nasr, with approximately $125.8 million, achieved a financial surplus of $6.7 million, placing it second among the highest surplus clubs.
The Saudi Al-Faisaly club achieved a financial surplus of nearly $1 million last fiscal year, with revenues of $29.25 million, compared to expenses of $28.25 million, outperforming the Moroccan club Al- Wydad, which achieved a surplus of $700,000, out of total revenue of $11.4 million, compared to expenses of $10.7 million.
Al-Waydad ranked fourth in the list of Arab clubs with the highest fiscal surplus in 2021, in which the Moroccan Nahdet Berkane ranked fifth with a surplus of approximately $150,000, according to the Financial League report.
Deficit
The Saudi Al-Nasr and Al-Ittihad clubs led the list of Arab clubs with a financial deficit in 2021, with a value of $35.5 million for Al-Ittihad, the third Arab club, spending almost $105.5 million compared to $70 million in revenues. Al-Nasr, the second largest Arab club in revenues (about $109 million) and expenditures ($138.8 million), finished the previous fiscal year with a deficit of $29.8 million.
Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahly was the third Arab club with a financial deficit of $26.15 million after spending $90.4 million and earning $64.25 million.
Zamalek, the Egyptian League’s leader, also has a large budget deficit, even though its revenues have remained stable in the last two fiscal years at $10.6 million, but its expenses have reached $25 million, placing it fourth on the list of clubs with the largest financial deficit by about $14.5 million, a difference of $1.5 million from the Saudi “Al-Shabab” club, who spent $62 million in return for revenues of $49 million.
The only competitor
According to the report, the Egyptian Al-Ahly Club is the only competitor to the Saudi clubs that dominate the lists of Arab clubs with the highest revenues, expenses, profits, and losses, ranking seventh in terms of revenues with a value of $29.75 million, as well as expenses with a value of $35.6 million, trailing the six Saudi clubs Saudi, Al-Hilal, Al-Nasr, Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahly, Al-Shabab, and Al-Fateh.