to 12 in the 1984–85 season. In December 1990, the Saudi federation decided to merge the league with the king cup in one tournament, it was decided to revamp local competitions and to introduce professional football. A new league championship was formed called "The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques League Cup", which was a two-stage championship. The first stage was a regular double round-robin league competition with the top 4 qualifying to the final knockout stage, called the golden box. Clubs were allowed to sign players on a professional basis making the league semi professional. This system lasted for seventeen seasons before reverting to a regular round robin competition. The league became fully professional in 2007. As of 2008, depending on the nation's coefficient, four teams from Saudi Arabia qualify for the AFC Champions League annually. This includes the top three positions of the league, together with the winner of the King Cup. If the winner of the King Cup is also among the top three teams then the fourth-best team qualifies to the play-offs, and if the winner of the King Cup is not in the top three league positions in the league, the top two will qualify directly to the group stages while the third team will qualify for the AFC Champions League play-offs. Competition format Competition There are 16 clubs in the Saudi Professional League. During the course of a season (usually from August to May) each club plays the other clubs twice (a double round-robin system), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for 30 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by position on the league table depending on points, then the head-to-head record between the tied teams is taken into consideration, and then goal difference. Promotion and relegation A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Saudi Professional League and the Saudi First Division League. The three lowest placed teams in the Saudi Professional League are relegated to the First Division, and the top three teams from the First Division are promoted to the Saudi Professional League. List of teams (2021–22 season) For details on the 2021–22 Saudi Professional League season, see here. Note: Table lists in alphabetical order. 1: Al-Faisaly play their home games in Al Majma'ah. 2: Al-Hilal