2015–16 Saudi Professional League
The 2015–16 Saudi Professional League - officially known as the Abdul Latif Jameel League, because of its sponsorship - was the 40th season of the Saudi Professional League, since its inception in 1976.
Al-Nassr were once again the defending champions for this season, having won the previous two editions in 2013–14 and 2014–15, their 7th title in total. The League comprised 14 teams, 12 from the 2014–15 campaign and two new teams promoted from the 2014–15 First Division, champions Al-Qadisiyah and Al-Wehda who replaced relegated Al-Orobah and Al-Shoulla. The League started on 19 August 2015 and concluded on 14 May 2016.
On 24 April 2016, Al-Ahli won the league title after defeating Al-Hilal 3–1 in a home match. It was their first title since 1984 and their third overall. Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal and Al-Taawoun all secured a berth for the 2017 AFC Champions League via league position. At the bottom, Najran and Hajer were relegated to the First Division.
Teams
First Division champions Al-Qadisiyah return for the first time since being relegated in the 2011–12 campaign and were joined by Al-Wehda who return after relegation in 2012–13 campaign. They replaced relegated sides Al-Orobah and Al-Shoulla. This brings top flight football back to Makkah and Khobar.Stadiums and locations
| Team | Home city | Stadium | Capacity |
| Al-Ahli | Jeddah | King Abdullah Sports City | |
| Al-Faisaly | Harmah | King Salman Sport City | |
| Al-Fateh | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi | |
| Al-Hilal | Riyadh | King Fahd International | |
| Al-Ittihad | Jeddah | King Abdullah Sports City | |
| Al-Khaleej | Saihat | Prince Saud bin Jalawi | |
| Al-Nassr | Riyadh | King Fahd International | |
| Al-Qadisiyah | Khobar | Prince Saud bin Jalawi | |
| Al-Raed | Buraidah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium | |
| Al-Shabab | Riyadh | King Fahd International | |
| Al-Taawoun | Buraidah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium | |
| Al-Wehda | Makkah | King Abdul Aziz | |
| Hajer | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi | |
| Najran | Najran | Al-Akhdoud Club |
;Notes
Personnel and kits
Foreign players
The number of foreign players was limited to 4 per team, and should not be a goalkeeper.| Team | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 |
| Al-Ahli |  Marquinho |  Mohamed Abdel-Shafy |  Giannis Fetfatzidis |  Omar Al-Somah |
| Al-Faisaly | Adriano Pardal |  Javier Balboa |  Abel Camará |  Sadat Ouro-Akoriko |
| Al-Fateh | Élton |  Juan Falcón |  Patrick Gbala |  Salam Shaker |
| Al-Hilal | Aílton Almeida | Carlos Eduardo | Digão |  Kwak Tae-Hwi |
| Al-Ittihad |  Sulley Muntari |  Lucian Sânmărtean | Gelmin Rivas | |
| Al-Khaleej | Abdoulaye Koffi |  Aminou Bouba |  Aboubacar Sylla |  Ibrahim Al-Zawahreh |
| Al-Nassr |  Mohamed Husain | Marquinhos Gabriel |  Modibo Maïga |  Adrian Mierzejewski |
| Al-Qadisiyah | Gilberto Macena | Jandson | Vitor Júnior | Saad Abdul-Amir |
| Al-Raed |  Marcos Pizzelli |  Boubacar Kébé | Ismaël Bangoura |  Eid Al-Farsi |
| Al-Shabab |  Mohamed Benyettou | Fernando Farias | Rafinha |  Diego Arismendi |
| Al-Taawoun | Sandro Manoel | Paul Efoulou | Ricardo Machado | Jehad Al-Hussain |
| Al-Wehda | Anderson de Oliveira | Ernest Nfor | Jehad Al-Baour | Adolfo Lima |
| Hajer | Bruno Lopes | André Ndame |  Ashraf Nu'man |  Adama François |
| Najran | Adriano Alves | Bismark Ferreira | Eric Pereira | Tozin |
Managerial Changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Manner of departure | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | |
| Al-Raed | Abdelkader Amrani | 28 August 2015 | Sacked | 13th | Takis Lemonis | 3 September 2015 |
| Al-Nassr | Jorge da Silva | 23 October 2015 | Sacked | 7th |  René Higuita | 24 October 2015 |
| Al-Nassr | René Higuita | 26 October 2015 | Temporary mandate over | 6th |  Fabio Cannavaro | 26 October 2015 |
| Al-Wehda | Juan Rodriguez | 29 October 2015 | Sacked | 13th | Badreldin Hamed | 30 October 2015 |
| Al-Qadisiyah |  Djamel Belkacem | 30 October 2015 | Sacked | 9th | Alexandre Gallo | 30 October 2015 |
| Hajer |  Nebojša Jovović | 30 October 2015 | Sacked | 11th |  Abdullah Al-Janoubi | 30 October 2015 |
| Hajer | Abdullah Al-Janoubi | 4 November 2015 | Temporary mandate over | 12th |  Stéphane Demol | 4 November 2015 |
| Al-Wehda | Badreldin Hamed | 9 November 2015 | Temporary mandate over | 11th | Kheïreddine Madoui | 9 November 2015 |
| Al-Ittihad |  László Bölöni | 24 November 2015 | Mutual consent | 4th | Adel Abdulrahman | 24 November 2015 |
| Al-Ittihad | Adel Abdulrahman | 15 December 2015 | Temporary mandate over | 4th | Victor Pițurcă | 15 December 2015 |
| Najran | Fathi Al-Jabal | 16 December 2015 | Mutual consent | 13th | Al Hasan Al-Yami | 16 December 2015 |
| Najran | Al Hasan Al-Yami | 25 December 2015 | Temporary mandate over | 13th | Hélio dos Anjos | 25 December 2015 |
| Al-Shabab | Alvaro Gutierrez | 3 January 2016 | Sacked | 6th | Fathi Al-Jabal | 3 January 2016 |
| Al-Qadisiyah | Alexandre Gallo | 30 January 2016 | Sacked | 11th | Hamad Al-Dossari | 30 January 2016 |
| Al-Raed | Takis Lemonis | 1 February 2016 | Mutual consent | 12th |  Reda Hakam | 1 February 2016 |
| Al-Raed | Reda Hakam | 5 February 2016 | Temporary mandate over | 12th |  Aleksandar Ilić | 5 February 2016 |
| Al-Nassr | Fabio Cannavaro | 11 February 2016 | Mutual consent | 6th | René Higuita | 12 February 2016 |
| Al-Nassr | René Higuita | 18 February 2016 | Temporary mandate over | 7th |  Raúl Caneda | 18 February 2016 |
| Hajer | Stéphane Demol | 8 March 2016 | Mutual consent | 14th | Abdullah Al-Janoubi | 8 March 2016 |
;Notes
League table
Positions by round
The following table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve the chronological evolution, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. If a club from the Saudi Professional League wins the King Cup, they will qualify for the AFC Champions League, unless they have already qualified for it through their league position. In this case, an additional AFC Champions League group stage berth will be given to the 3rd placed team, and the AFC Champions League play-off round spot will be given to 4th.Results
Season progress
Relegation play-offs
which finished 12th will play against Al-Batin, 3rd of the 2015–16 Saudi First Division for a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score will take part in the 2016–17 Saudi Professional League. Al-Raed won 5–3 on aggregate and secured their place in the next season.First leg
Second leg
Statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Omar Al-Somah | Al-Ahli | 27 |
| 2 | Gelmin Rivas | Al-Ittihad | 19 |
| 3 | Carlos Eduardo | Al-Hilal | 14 |
| 4 | Abdulmajeed Al-Ruwaili | Al-Taawoun | 13 |
| 5 | Élton | Al-Fateh | 12 |
| 6 | Ali Awagi | Al-Wehda | 11 |
| 7 | Paul Efoulou | Al-Taawoun | 10 |
| 7 | Adrian Mierzejewski | Al-Nassr | 10 |
Top assists
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Jehad Al-Hussain | Al-Taawoun | 10 |
| 2 | Salman Al-Moasher | Al-Ahli | 9 |
| 3 | Fahad Al-Muwallad | Al-Ittihad | 8 |
| 4 | Eric Pereira | Najran | 7 |
| 4 | Paul Efoulou | Al-Taawoun | 7 |
| 6 | Adrian Mierzejewski | Al-Nassr | 6 |
| 6 | Élton | Al-Fateh | 6 |
| 6 | Gelmin Rivas | Al-Ittihad | 6 |
| 6 | Giannis Fetfatzidis | Al-Ahli | 6 |
| 6 | Marcos Pizzelli | Al-Raed | 6 |
| 6 | Nawaf Al-Abed | Al-Hilal | 6 |
| 6 | Taisir Al-Jassim | Al-Ahli | 6 |
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean Sheets | |
| 1 | Khalid Sharhili | Al-Hilal | 20 | 10 |
| 1 | Yasser Al-Mosailem | Al-Ahli | 22 | 10 |
| 3 | Mohammed Al-Owais | Al-Shabab | 22 | 8 |
| 4 | Faisel Masrahi | Al-Qadisiyah | 26 | 7 |
| 5 | Abdullah Al-Owaishir | Al-Fateh | 19 | 6 |
| 6 | Assaf Al-Qarni | Al-Ittihad | 15 | 5 |
| 6 | Mansoor Al-Najai | Al-Faisaly | 20 | 5 |
| 6 | Moslem Al Freej | Al-Khaleej | 22 | 5 |
| 6 | Fayz Al-Sabiay | Al-Taawoun | 22 | 5 |
Hat-tricks
4 Player scored four goalsAttendances
By round
Source:By team
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