What you need to know about Neom, our Saudi opponents on Saturday

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Here are a few facts you may not know about the newly promoted Saudi Pro League team.

Foundation and new name

The club was founded in 1965 as Al-Suqoor Club, which means 'Falcons' in Arabic. In 2023, the Saudi Ministry of Sport announced that Al-Suqoor had been acquired by the NEOM project. On 24 December 2023, the club's name was officially changed to Neom Sports Club.

Historic promotion to Saudi Pro League

During the 2024-25 season Neom earned their first-ever promotion to the Saudi Pro League. Among the stars of the season were Algerian playmaker Mohamed Said Benrahma and Egyptian defender Ahmed Hegazy, formerly of Fiorentina and Perugia.

Club colours

As Al-Suqoor, the team wore black and gold. After the switch to Neom in 2023, the colour of the club's kit was initially changed to orange before before becoming blue the following season.

Neom etymology

Neom is the amalgamation of neo, or 'new' in Greek, and the first letter of Mustaqbal, the Arabic word for 'future'.

Star player: Lacazette

Neom's star player is without doubt Alexander Lacazette, who was signed on a free transfer this summer. The 34-year-old French striker has spent most of his career at Lyon, with a five-year stint in the Premier League at Arsenal. Lacazette has scored over 300 career goals in Ligue 1, Premier League, domestic and international cup competitions, and for the national team.

Rising French stars

One of the new faces at Neom is promising French midfielder Saimon Bouabre, 19, who was signed from Monaco this summer. Another is Ivory Coast youngster Amadou Kone, 20, who joined from Stade de Reims.

Christophe Galtier

Neom's coach is Christophe Galtier, the man who steered Lille to the Ligue 1 title in 2020-21 (with Zeki Celik in the team). He is the only coach who has been able to break Paris Saint-Germain's domestic dominance in the last eight seasons. He also won the French league title while in charge of PSG in 2022-23.

The coach's Italian past

Galtier is a former defender who spent a season in Italy (1997-98), at Monza in Serie B. There his coaches were Gigi Radice, followed by Bruno Bolchi and Luigi Frosio. Among his team-mates were such names as Christian Abbiati, Roberto D’Aversa and Luca Saudati.