“Soccer might be the number one sport for Saudi men, but for Saudi women, it is basketball,” said Almaeena who was the basketball captain of her high school team at Children’s World School of Jeddah.

“My first basketball coach was my uncle, Tariq, who bought us hoops in every place we could afford to shoot: At the house garden, at his garage and at his beach cabin,” she said. As a result, it is no surprise that she continues to play basketball to this very day. However, what she never imagined was becoming the captain and founder of the first private women’s basketball league in the Kingdom: Jeddah United (JU).

“Jeddah United Advanced women’s basketball team is like a sorority, expect that the Jeddah United membership continues while sororities end after graduation,” she explained.

After giving birth to her daughter, Aya, in 2003, Almaeena was suddenly faced with a huge change in her life and felt restless. “I really needed something dynamic to go back to,” she recalled.

Her husband, Obaid Madani, who was playing basketball on a weekly basis, encouraged her to start playing basketball again and she did.

“I went back to my favorite sport and that definitely changed my life. The endorphin effect when a person, especially a woman exercises, balances her psyche and makes her a healthier and happier person,” she said.

However, back then, there were no facilities or “umbrella” for postgraduates to be on specific teams. As a result, Almaeena decided to start her own private team of friends and family and created her own “umbrella.”

“My husband arranged for a private family court for the team and we hired a coach to train us.” Hence, the JU women’s basketball team was born that year.

JU is more than just a team. In 2006, it expanded from a team to a sports company — Jeddah United Sports Co. (JUSC) — that trains a whole league of men and women aged four to sixty four. JUSC boasts of the following divisions: Women and men’s basketball, female volleyball and male soccer. The volleyball and soccer teams recently won first place in the JU Volleyball and Soccer Star Academy tournaments. Furthermore, Alkhobar United basketball division was also recently established.

“Our company is the first and only sports company in Saudi Arabia that trains hundreds of girls and boys in different sports. We also organize sports events and tournaments to promote the culture of athletics, good sportsmanship and healthy lifestyles,” said Almaeena who is also the Director of JUSC.

The company, whose slogan is “united in sports,” deals with the most prestigious federations in the world like the NBA and WNBA and partners with global enterprises such as Mazda, Aramex and Pepsi-Bugshan.

The women and men’s basketball division has the following teams: JU Men (Advanced), JU senior boys, JU junior boys, JU Women (Advanced), JU Intermediate Women, JU junior girls, JU senior girls and JU kids. The teams depend on specific age groups and are classified as the following: Kids (4-6), juniors (7-11) and seniors (12-16).

Almaeena is the captain of the advanced women’s team, which depends on performance rather than age. Therefore, players range from the age of 15 and up.

Madani is the Co-founder and Managing Director of JUSC and Umar Abdul Salam is the Head Coach who supervises the male league. Salam has played with NBA players such as Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Dr. J.

JU has many goals, but most importantly, it aims to promote women sports and sportsmanship in the Kingdom and the rest of the world by training their different leagues and by attracting media coverage to highlight the importance of sports in every individual’s life — no matter what gender or age — and push for change.

Its other aims include empowering women and youth, changing Saudi women stereotypes as having no identities or productive roles in society and generating players with Olympic potential to compete in national and international events.

“We are a team that strives to promote both sports and sportsmanship, focusing on the physical, mental, spiritual and social aspect of the game as well — something that many teams don’t really value,” said Almaeena.

As a result, they teach leadership, team spirit, teamwork, respect of opponents, responsibilities, good communication skills and self-confidence.

JU also endorses a healthy lifestyle in a society that faces many health problems such as diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity and psychological stress of which regular physical activity can prevent and cure. Almaeena’s MA in psychology made her realize that regular exercise is the number one anti-depressant as it produces endorphins in the brain that combat physical, emotional and psychological stress.

Almaeena admitted she was faced with many challenges at the beginning when she first created the team. “Finding a coach was a challenge since very few qualified coaches and referees existed,” she said.

Furthermore, according to her, women sports in 2003, and up until recently, were taboo in the Arabic press, making it very difficult to publish any press releases. Nonetheless, that did not stop them achieving their goals.

The advanced women’s basketball team has traveled to many Arab countries, appeared in hundreds of publications and won many local championships. For example, in 2007, the team won first place at the following three tournaments: “Women’s Street Basketball,” “Jaguars Women’s Health Awareness” and “Princess Fawziya,” which is part of the First Women Welfare Society. 

“All tournaments that we have won were local as our international participation is not at tournament level yet,” said Almaeena. “That is what we are trying to do: elevate the level of the game.”

The advanced women’s basketball team has made an impact on a national and international level to confront and alter stereotypes of Saudi women. “We have been in 4,000 local and international media coverage that portrayed Saudi participation in the sports industry,” she said. This high number of media coverage is a result of various news wires running articles on the team and distributing them across the world.

“Because we have a few professional players in the advanced women’s division who played in college in the US, private clubs and Olympic level in Arab countries such as Egypt and Syria, our system is that we coach ourselves and usually get professional coaches for programs throughout the year,” explained Almaeena.

“We are the first women’s team that challenged the media to bring light to our segment — our cause — that appeared live on national and international TV while participating in games in Jordan and the UAE. We continue to actively support the game within a religiously-cultured framework.”

“In 2008, we aired on CNN for two consecutive months and received tons of e-mails from people who felt that we gave a different image of conservative Saudi women in the sports sector. As lovers of sports, we believe in the importance of sports, and most importantly, view the Islamic culture as a supporter of women sports rather than an obstacle,” she added.

The success of the JU advanced women’s basketball team is apparent in that Pepsi-Bugshan recently sponsored the team in an attempt to support women sports in Saudi Arabia and contribute to the historical formation of team sports in the private sports sector.

“We are grateful that Pepsi-Bugshan and its association with Pepsi-Cola International sponsored our team, and we appreciate the local contribution to our sports promotion,” said Almaeena. “It is essential to have a sponsor like them because it enables our team to develop and grow.”

For instance, they were partially able to cover the cost of accommodating Coach Maureen’s three-week program from NYC titled “Mo-Motion,” which took place last March. “Such programs teach skills and techniques that enhance and advance the game, and these sponsors contribute to the historical development of women sports in Saudi Arabia,” she said.

According to Almaeena, the appointment of Arwa Muttabagani by King Abdullah as “the first female member to be appointed in the General Presidency of Youth Welfare in 2008,” laid the foundation to the future of women sports, since the nomination is equivalent to a ministry of sports in other countries.

JUSC is improving the quality of the community at large as part of their corporate social responsibility. The women’s basketball division coaches and trains girls in the wheelchair basketball division as well as girls with disabilities from Abjad and Hope centers.

JUSC coaches more than three hundred members and runs annual tournaments with social messages such as “Drink Milk” and “No Smoking”. Furthermore, it holds coaching clinics by retired NBA players and national and professional international clubs’ players.

For more information, visit: