RIYADH, February 9, 2022 - From football pitches to fan zones and to media tribunes, Saudi Arabian women are strongly present in all sports forums hosted by the Kingdom whether as stadium security personnel, footballer, sports journalist or even a fan, their love for sports became unstoppable and their desire to pursue their dreams was unleashed. In early 2018, Saudi women were given full access to practice and attend sporting events, as part of the kingdom's Vision 2023 aiming to empower and allow women to assume various roles in all fields, employing their energy and creativity to contribute to the development of the country.

Saudi Arabia identified Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam as the first destinations where the most interesting sporting events are hosted.

THE 2018 EMERGING GENERATION The demand to create and follow female sporting leagues has increased, and since then, a new generation of Saudi females has emerged. Most of the Saudi first-ever female national teams were created and developed in 2018, the female national football team debuted in their first FIFA-Recognised international match in the Maldives beating The Seychelles 2-0 only one month after the team has been established.

FIRST FIFA-RECOGNISED PARTICIPATION The Women's national football team received wide Saudi support by releasing a support hashtag under "#TogetherWeMakeHistory" on social platforms, the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman praised their first win, late Brazilian football legend Pele congratulated the Saudi FA on their first victory on Twitter, the FIFA praised the women's green through its official account, commenting: "A picture of history. Today, the Saudi national team played their first match in the history of women's football."


Saudi Arabia’s women’s football team poses for a photo after winning its first-ever international match. (Twitter)

A GIANT LEAP FOR JOURNALISTS The first female generation of Saudi journalists was established a long time ago, at the start of the 2000s. However, there weren't many sports-specialised journalists, and therefore not many field reporters. Many universities have opened academic specialities for females in sports, including journalism, marking a huge leap in the past 5 years, female athletes started participating in big international events like the Olympic Games, and female journalists started covering sports domestically and internationally. Sprinter Sarah Attar became the first Saudi female Olympian when she competed in the 800 metres at the 2012 London Games and many more names followed even in the motorsports and racing world.


In a historic first, journalist Weam Al Dakheel becomes Saudi's first female news anchor to deliver an evening news bulletin as she appeared alongside anchor Omar Al Nashwan on the state-owned Saudi TV Channel 1 (24 September 2018).

For the record, Al Dakheel is not the first female anchor to appear on Saudi TV. Women anchors are traditionally featured in softer news features like cooking shows and weather programs.

WOMEN'S VOICES HIGHLIGHTED Debuting sports journalist Noha Qahtani expressed: "I am incredibly happy for the recent achievements of Saudi women, as they now have equal rights as men. The Saudi Kingdom's Vision 2030 supports me as a woman to develop and contribute to society, and highlights my voice and all women in Saudi Arabia, it is a wonderful feeling when I see how the Kingdom supports us and contributes to the participation of Saudi women in all sporting, political and social events that take place in the Kingdom."


L-R: Judoka Wojdan Shaherkani and 800m-runner Sarah Attar, the first two females to ever participate in the Olympics - London 2012 .

FIRST SAUDI FEMALE COMMUNITY LEAGUE The Saudi dream became a reality, when the first Saudi Community Level Women’s Football League was launched and the kingdom celebrated the Challenge Team win in the final match, held on 20 February 2022, recording a historic gain for women's sports in Saudi. 


The Challenge Team celebrating their win in the first official Saudi Women's Community Football League

FIRST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM Lina Al Maeena is the founder of the first Saudi women's basketball team, considered an asset in Saudi, she proved her business management skills by successfully launching a women's sports academy. She is an athlete and business leader in addition to being a member of the Saudi Shura Council since December 2016, which is a deliberative assembly that advises the King on issues that are important to Saudi Arabia.


Lina Al Maeena No.7 training with some members of Jeddah United women BC on May 19, 2009 (Photo by Omar Salem)

Lina sought to establish the basketball team in 2003, which later was called "Jeddah United", to turn into an integrated academy in basketball. Asserting that happiness will only be achieved by strengthening physical and psychological health, which was practically embodied in Vision 2030, and one of the most important goals of this vision was to increase the number of sports practitioners from 30 to 40% and to increase women’s work from 22 to 30%.


Lina Al Maeena with Jeddah United Basketball Team during a training session prior to their participation in the Saudi Games 2022 on 21 October 2022

SPRING YEARS In the years of this national transformation, girls’ sports entered public schools, sports science faculties and sports management departments were opened in universities for female students. The number of sports federations increased to reach 64 with women in the field of management like Areej Mutabaqani, the first woman who today chairs the Saudi Tennis Federation.

National female teams first participated in the sixth edition of the Gulf Cooperation Council Women's Championships in six different sports. Saudi women also participated in the Abu Dhabi 2019 Special Olympics winning 40 coloured medals, 18 of which are gold medals. 



FIRST SAUDI FEMALE RACER Meet Saudi Arabia's first female racer Reema Juffali, she set history when she featured in the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY series on her home soil in November 2019. Juffali is Saudi’s first-ever female driver to race on the big stage just 18 months after Saudi Arabia lifted the ban on women’s driving licences.

The country’s first female racing driver launched Theeba Motorsport, a Saudi racing team designed to improve the country’s participation and representation in the motorsport industry. It’s a milestone for Juffali to manage a team in the male-dominated sport, and that’s without taking Saudi Arabia’s own history with female drivers into account.

In a 2019 interview with local media, Reema said: “When I first started driving in Saudi Arabia, children in cars next to me, looked at me as like a celebrity because it was still strange for them to see a woman driving,” Juffali says. “I have always had a passion for racing cars but I’ve only competed outside of Saudi Arabia. Now I’m finally heading home to race with Jaguar in an electric racecar.”