Saudi Arabian Women's Football on the Rise
The Saudi Arabian Men's Team have just qualified for their sixth FIFA Men's World Cup Finals and now the Saudi Arabian Women's team are about to enter the world stage and the first fully organized women's nationwide league has just been completed. The enthusiasm for the Women's league has been huge and a massive step forward for Saudi women as they seek to gain equal footing in the world's most popular game.
The foundations of the Women's game were set in 2019 after Saudi Arabia set up a Department of Women's Football Development committee in order to help with the evolution of the game. Al-Mamlaka were the first women's champions after defeating 'Challenge' at the King Abdullah Sports City. For third place, 'Al-Yamanah' overcame 'Jeddah Sports' though the greatest victory was that the league itself was set up and completed.
The league kicked off in November 2021 and 16 teams were involved. The Saudi Arabian Women's National Team is now managed by Monika Staab of Germany and they recently made great waves by winning their first-ever international matches. The Saudi Women's team defeated both the Seychelles and Maldives.
The 'Green Falcons' soared high in their international debut and managed to win both matches 2-0. Players Al-Bandari Mubarak and Mariam Al-Tamimi made history by scoring the Women's team's first-ever international goals.
The Saudi Women's Team will also further gain international recognition when they officially enter the FIFA Women's World Ranking.
The Women's team has gotten off to a perfect start and will no doubt make rapid inroads into the global game so don't be surprised if the Green Falcons make a splash at the Women's World Cup and Asian Cup.
Soccerphile.com