Sports · Football · 1 hr ago
Saud Abdulhamid becomes first Saudi to play in Champions League
Saud Abdulhamid started for Lens against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old right-back became the first Saudi player to appear in the competition.
Lens is a French club, while Sporting Lisbon is from Portugal.
Abdulhamid joined Lens from Roma in 2025 and had made 33 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring four goals and assisting eight.
Injuries had limited his appearances this season, and he missed Lens’s first Champions League match.
Lens and Sporting each had three points going into the game as they sought to improve their chances of reaching the knockout rounds.
Abdulhamid’s progress in the tournament now depends on Lens’s remaining matches.
Saud Abdulhamid became the first Saudi player to appear in the UEFA Champions League when he started for Lens against Sporting Lisbon.
The 27-year-old played at right-back in the league-phase match on Tuesday.
Abdulhamid joined Lens from Roma in summer 2025.
He has made 33 appearances for Lens in all competitions, scoring four goals and providing eight assists.
Injuries limited his appearances at the start of the season and delayed his Champions League debut.
- Who
- Saud Abdulhamid, a 27-year-old right-back for Lens.
- What
- He became the first Saudi player to appear in the Champions League, starting against Sporting Lisbon.
- When
- Tuesday, October 13, 2026.
- Where
- In Lens’s match against Sporting Lisbon; the venue is not stated.
- Why
- His participation marked the first time a Saudi player had played in the Champions League.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Abdulhamid made his first appearance in European competitions for Roma in a Europa League match against Athletic Bilbao.
Abdulhamid joined Lens from Roma.
Injuries limited Abdulhamid’s appearances and kept him out of Lens’s first Champions League league-phase match.
Abdulhamid started for Lens against Sporting Lisbon, becoming the first Saudi player to appear in the Champions League.
- Player
- Saud Abdulhamid
- Age
- 27
- Club
- Lens
- Opponent
- Sporting Lisbon
- Champions League appearance
- First Saudi player to appear in the competition
- Lens record
- 33 appearances, four goals and eight assists in all competitions
Posts on X
𝐇-𝟏 avant #RCLSCP en @ChampionsLeague 💫 Voici le 𝒐𝒏𝒛𝒆 aligné par Yannick Cahuzac pour cette rencontre face au @SportingCP à Bollaert-Delelis. #FiersDEtreLensois #UCL
دعوات سعود عبدالحميد قبل الاحماء في الليلة التاريخية للاعب السعودي الاول الذي يشارك في دوري ابطال اوروبا. موفق يارب. #لانس_سبورتينغ_لشبونة #دوري_أبطال_أوروبا
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