Saudi Club Stakes Begin Transfer to PIF

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Sport has begun transferring the 25% stakes held by nonprofit entities in Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli, Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal to the Public Investment Fund after the required regulatory procedures were completed.

The ministry also dissolved the boards of the four nonprofit entities connected to those holdings. The move changes the ownership framework established in 2023, when PIF took 75% stakes in the four club companies and the nonprofit entities retained 25%.

The current operating boards of the club companies are separate from those nonprofit boards. Al-Hilal said its club company board, chaired by Prince Nawaf bin Saad, would remain in place after its term was extended for 90 days from 17 July. It will continue to oversee operations, contracts and obligations while further ownership steps are completed.

The transfer comes as Saudi Arabia advances a wider programme to commercialise and privatise professional football. That process has already produced different ownership paths across the league, including strategic investors and state-backed companies taking control of selected clubs.

No financial consideration for the 25% transfers was disclosed. The announcement also did not set a completion date or specify how the process interacts with any separate transactions involving individual clubs. What is confirmed is that the ministry has started the regulatory transfer of the nonprofit stakes to PIF, further centralising the ownership process around four of the Saudi Pro League’s largest teams.