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Saudi Pro League team 'paying fake fans to make noise' as embarrassing crowds reach new low

An ambitious Saudi Pro League club containing former Arsenal and Everton stars has resorted paying supporters to crank up the atmosphere at home matches

[Al-Riyadh had an attendance of just 315 fans this week]

Attendances in the Saudi Pro League have been embarrassing at times, with some clubs resorting to paying fans(Image: Getty Images)

Fans of a Saudi Pro League side are reportedly being paid to make noise in a desperate bid to drum up atmosphere.

The state-backed league has tried to threaten Europes dominance of club football by luring some of the biggest names in the game to the Middle East. After Cristiano Ronaldo set the ball rolling by joining Al-Nassr, a host of European football stars are now boosting their bank balances with Saudi cash.

However, big names like Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane have done little to swell crowds at many matches, with many not even breaking into four figures. In fact, some match attendances have struggled to make double figures.

It has now emerged that one club, Neom SC, is paying fans around 8 per game to turn up the volume at their matches. According to the French title LEquipe, a WhatsApp group posting instructions to the fans has even been created.

As a relatively new club, NEOM, named after the planned new urban area, is looking to establish itself. It recently made it to the countrys top tier after back-to-back promotions and has signed some big names, including Alexandre Lacazette and Abdoulaye Doucoure, formerly of Arsenal and Everton, respectively.

[Alexandre Lacazette playing for NEOM SC]

Alexandre Lacazette joined newly promoted NEOM SC in the summer(Image: Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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Meanwhile, they are managed by Christophe Galtier, who coached Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Paris Saint-Germain. The French club is renowned for its passionate fanbase, which NEOM is trying to artificially create.

The original club was actually founded in 1965 as Al-Suqoor Club, spending the majority of its existence in the second and third tiers with limited success. However, in 2023, the state-owned NEOM company bought the club and rebranded it.

The wider NEOM company is planning a project that involves building a 105-mile-long city in the middle of the desert. It also includes building a stadium that would serve as one of the venues for the 2034 World Cup in the country.

Construction on the 46,000-capacity ground, on the shores of the Red Sea, is scheduled to begin in 2027 and is expected to be completed by 2032.

For now, NEOM are playing almost 100 miles away at the modest King Khalid Sport City Stadium in Tabuk, which has a capacity of 12,000, in front of paid fans rather than paying fans.

NEOM have made a solid start to the new season, winning two of their first three games, losing the other. They are currently seventh in the 18-team league.

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