The curtain has come down on one of the most exciting seasons in recent Bahraini football, with Al-Muharraq sealing the Nasser bin Hamad Premier League title for 2025-26 by a single point from Al-Khaldiya, in a race that stayed open until the final whistle of the twenty-second and last round. It is Al-Muharraq’s thirty-sixth title and their second in succession, confirming once again that the club remains the defining name in football in the Kingdom — despite a widening field of competitors and a rising technical standard across the rest of the division.
Between the end of a gripping season and the start of a new one due to begin in a matter of weeks, this report offers a full picture of the Bahraini Premier League: its history and structure, the numbers and defining moments of 2025-26, and an early reading of what 2026-27 has in store and which clubs are positioned to compete for the shield.
The Bahraini Premier League, known officially as the Nasser bin Hamad Premier League, is the country’s foremost football competition. Its first edition was played in the 1956-57 season, meaning it completes seven decades of existence as the coming season begins. It is organised by the Bahrain Football Association and broadcast on Bahrain Sports TV, with its biggest fixtures drawing a wide following both inside the Kingdom and beyond it.
Twelve clubs currently take part, playing a double round robin — home and away — for a total of twenty-two rounds each. Although the schedule designates a home side and an away side for every fixture, most matches are staged at a limited number of central venues, chief among them the Bahrain National Stadium in Riffa, alongside Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town, Al-Ahli Club Stadium in Mahooz and Al-Muharraq Stadium in Arad. This centralised arrangement gives the competition a character distinct from most Gulf leagues.
The promotion and relegation system sharpens the competition right through to the closing rounds. The eleventh and twelfth-placed clubs are relegated directly to the Second Division, while the ninth and tenth-placed sides enter a play-off alongside the top two from the Second Division, with the two clubs finishing first and second in that play-off securing their places in the top flight for the following season.
On the historical record, Al-Muharraq dominate the honours list with thirty-six titles, followed by Riffa on fourteen, then Bahrain Club and Al-Ahli on five each, while Ismail Abdullatif remains the competition’s all-time leading scorer on 124 goals. The champions qualify for the AFC Champions League Two, while other leading positions open the door to Gulf competition, alongside the domestic tournaments — the King of Bahrain Cup, the Khalid bin Hamad Cup, the Super Cup and the FA Cup.
The season began on 11 September 2025 and concluded on 15 May 2026, taking in 112 matches in which 275 goals were scored, an average of 2.46 per game. From the opening rounds the title race looked confined to Al-Muharraq and Al-Khaldiya, with a strong showing from Riffa, who finished third on 49 points.
The turning point arrived in round twenty-one, when Al-Muharraq and Al-Khaldiya met in front of a large crowd at the Bahrain National Stadium. Al-Muharraq fell behind before turning the match around through Arthur, who equalised from the penalty spot in the 24th minute and added a second in the 35th. Al-Khaldiya’s problems deepened when goalkeeper Ricardo was sent off in the 73rd minute, and the match finished 2-1 to Al-Muharraq, who took top spot with one round remaining.
On the closing day, Al-Muharraq settled the matter with a hard-fought win over A’Ali, Soufiane Mahrouq scoring the only goal in the 51st minute to lift them to 55 points against Al-Khaldiya’s 54. The title added the league shield to the King of Bahrain Cup, completing a domestic double in a single season.
Perhaps the most striking number of the season was Al-Muharraq’s defensive record: just seven goals conceded in twenty-two matches, a rate rarely seen anywhere in the region. Al-Khaldiya, by contrast, lost the title despite eighteen wins, paying the price for four defeats and the complete absence of draws from their record — the very points that would have secured the shield.
Elsewhere in the table, Malkiya finished fourth on 33 points, A’Ali fifth on 31 and Al-Hidd sixth on 30, while Al-Ahli and Sitra shared seventh and eighth on 27 points apiece. The competition’s leading scorer was the Brazilian Juninho with eleven goals, in a season marked generally by a lower scoring rate than in previous campaigns.
At the foot of the table, Al-Shabab were relegated directly to the Second Division on 14 points, and Bahrain Club left the competition with just seven points after a brutal season in which they conceded 56 goals — including a 7-0 defeat to Al-Muharraq in February 2026, the biggest result of the campaign. On the continental front, Al-Muharraq and Al-Khaldiya secured the two AFC Champions League Two places, while Riffa head to the Gulf Club Champions Cup.
The shape of the new season became clear once the promotion and relegation play-off was completed in late May 2026 with four clubs taking part. Al-Najma and Manama both secured their places in the Nasser bin Hamad Premier League after two consecutive wins each, while Budaiya dropped to the Second Division and Al-Ittihad failed in their attempt to return to the top flight. Meanwhile Al-Ittifaq came up as Second Division champions, accompanied by East Riffa as runners-up, the latter returning to the top division after an absence.
That gives a twelve-club field for 2026-27 consisting of Al-Muharraq, Al-Khaldiya, Riffa, Malkiya, A’Ali, Al-Hidd, Al-Ahli, Sitra, Al-Najma, Manama, Al-Ittifaq and East Riffa. The new season is expected to begin in September 2026 in line with recent practice, preceded by the Super Cup, with the official calendar still awaiting final confirmation from the Bahrain Football Association.
In footballing terms, Al-Muharraq enter as the leading candidates to retain the title, built on a settled coaching staff, a resilient back line and players experienced in decisive matches. Their greatest challenge will be managing the workload between domestic competition and the continental campaign — a factor that has worn down many Gulf clubs in recent seasons, particularly given the fixture congestion in the first half of the year.
Al-Khaldiya, meanwhile, look the likeliest to break that dominance. They lost the title by a single point and have a group of players capable of competing, but they need to address their inconsistency against direct rivals and avoid the surprise defeats that cost them the shield. Riffa, with fourteen titles to their name, have the support base and the resources to return to the podium if they succeed in strengthening the final third with impactful signings.
In the second tier of the competition, Malkiya, Al-Hidd and A’Ali are expected to continue performing well and competing for the places that qualify for external tournaments, while attention will turn to the newcomers: Al-Ittifaq, arriving among the established clubs with the spirit of a promoted champion, East Riffa seeking to recover their historical standing, and Manama returning quickly to the top flight after a single season away. Historically, promoted clubs have shown that their ability to survive is tied to the start of the season more than the end of it, since collecting points in the opening ten rounds gives them a psychological and technical margin in the relegation battle.
The summer transfer window remains a key factor in shaping the season, particularly given that most Bahraini clubs rely on foreign professionals in the playmaking and centre-forward roles. With the scoring rate down last season, the quality of attacking signings looks likely to be as decisive as anything that happens on the pitch. Coaching stability will also play an important part, as several clubs have suffered in recent seasons from frequent changes on the bench.
In short, Bahraini football says farewell to an outstandingly competitive season and welcomes a new one carrying open questions. Will Al-Muharraq extend their run and reach a thirty-seventh title? Can Al-Khaldiya make up for that single agonising point? And how will the promoted sides adapt to the rhythm of the top flight? The answers will emerge gradually across the opening rounds — but what is certain is that competition in Bahraini football is now broader and more compelling than at any point in its history.
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