Saudi Arabia Is Now The Home Of Women’s Football

In March of this year, the Saudi Arabia women’s national team made its debut in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking for the first time.

Many other developing nations look up to the Member Association as an example. The country’s league currently has more than 50,000 players and taking an interest 3,600 schools.

The journey was started by Monika Staab, the technical director of the Saudi Arabian women’s national team. Staab may no longer be at the forefront of Saudi Arabian women’s football now that she has handed over the reins to the Finnish coach Rosa Lappi-Seppala. However, her influence on a story that continues to write chapters is undeniable.

When the women’s national team entered the FIFA/Coca-Cola rankings in March of this year, they achieved a significant milestone. The challenge of successfully qualifying for a FIFA Women’s World CupTM was set almost immediately.

Staab reflected,

“It was an incredible journey when I was the head coach. I was a part of history. The first official international FIFA match in the Maldives against the Seychelles. And we won! It was just amazing how these girls were playing.

“We had eight hundred applicants for the try-outs, from which we selected thirty-five in the end. It was a long journey to find the best players. I think all these players – the twenty-five who went to the Maldives – had the greatest moment of their lives.”

Preceding her job in charge in Saudi Arabia, Staab had ventured to the far corners of the planet, assisting with supporting women’s football in no less than 85 countries. She believes that the impact of the game’s development in Saudi Arabia goes far beyond the country’s borders.

“It is an impact on all Arab countries, all Muslim countries all over the world. It shows that this is possible. We are going out into the world and showing that women’s football is possible in this region. It’s a good example for everyone. I feel like now we are almost a role model for many other developing countries” said the German-born globetrotter.

“I worked for FIFA for many years as an Instructor and I know how important it is that FIFA is offering all these [women’s football development] programmes. We don’t just want women’s football to be played in Saudi Arabia, we want it to be played in all of FIFA’s Member Associations.”

Saudi Arabia Football Federation (SAFF) Women’s Football Director Aalia Al Rachid has witnessed the phenomenal growth of women’s football first hand.

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Not only has there been the establishment of the national team, but since 2019, a Premier League and First Division have both launched, along with a league involving 50,000 girls, and approximately 3,600 participating schools.

“Today, we have four regional training centres in the Kingdom” continued Al Rachid. “We have also worked on developing female teachers by offering forty courses to prepare them for training and developing female players in schools. We now have three active national teams and twenty-three people in the department working to develop the women’s football pyramid.”

The Saudi Arabia Football Federation’s (SAFF) application to host the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 2026 has also been confirmed, and SAFF General Secretary Ibrahim Alkassim is overjoyed that Saudi Arabia has become a home for football.

There is somewhat of a test inside the Saudi Bedouin Football League with regards to whether the men or women will win the World Cup first.

“Saudi Arabia remains a great home for football competitions. We will see the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia later this year and we welcome all the participants and visitors to come here and see it up close.”