Back to the Roots: Al-Ahli Unveils New Shield Crest, Paying Homage to 1937 Founding Design
Saudi Pro League giants Al-Ahli Saudi FC officially unveiled a brand-new club crest at a grand ceremony on July 2. The new design aims to merge the club's rich history with its future ambitions, strengthening its unique visual identity by returning to a classic shield design and marking a new chapter in the club's branding strategy.
Founded in 1937, Al-Ahli is one of the most successful and popular football clubs in Saudi Arabia. Based in the port city of Jeddah, the team has a decorated history, having won multiple Saudi Pro League titles, King's Cups, and Crown Prince Cups, while also achieving significant success on the Asian stage. In recent years, the club's global profile has been steadily rising with the signing of several world-class football stars.
The new Al-Ahli crest returns to a classic shield shape, which the club states symbolizes "strength and unity." The crest is predominantly rendered in the club's traditional green, outlined with a white and navy blue border for a cleaner, more powerful overall look.
At the top center of the crest sits a prominent palm tree, an iconic symbol that has been with the club since its inception. The palm tree is flanked by "JED," the abbreviation for its home city Jeddah, and "1937," the year the club was founded. A white banner runs across the center of the crest, featuring the club's motto in Arabic script above, and the club's name in both Arabic and English, "Al Ahli," below.
The core philosophy behind this redesign is "honoring history while looking to the future." The new crest is heavily inspired by the club's historical logos, particularly the shield-shaped badge used between 1937 and 1997. The Arabic motto at the heart of the crest, “وعبر الزمان سنمضي معًا,” translates to "Together Through Time," reflecting the unwavering loyalty and strong bond between the club and its fans across generations.
Notably, the selection process for the new crest actively involved the fans. The club launched extensive public engagement initiatives and finalized the design through an official vote, reinforcing the connection with its fan community.
Compared to the previous crest, the new design is significantly streamlined and optimized. The former logo featured a circle within a more complex shield, containing a football, a trophy icon, and the club's full name encircling them. Additionally, the old crest included two crossed scimitars beneath the palm tree. The new crest boldly removes these literal elements: football, trophy, and swords, to focus the visual narrative on the palm tree, the founding year, and the club's name, resulting in a more modern and timeless design language. This shift from complexity to simplicity not only enhances the logo's adaptability in the digital era but also serves as a profound tribute to the club's origins.
The new Al-Ahli crest will be fully implemented starting with the 2025-2026 season. It will be featured on the team's new kits, training gear, official digital platforms, and all related brand visual materials. In fact, the crest made an early debut on the 2024-25 third "retro" kit, serving as a teaser ahead of the official launch.
