They watch the National Football League on TV but are not allowed to attend matches in stadiums. During last year’s World Cup, many Saudi families — despite the Saudi side not participating in the event — regularly visited coffee houses and malls to watch their favorite teams play.

Saudi women also have special ways to show their support for their teams. They use football memorabilia that are designed for men to express support for their teams and also sometimes create their own feminine-like memorabilia.

During the last World Cup, many young Saudi women wore abayas designed in the colors of their favorite teams and exhibiting the numbers of their favorite players.

Nadia Al-Amoudi, a student at King Abdulaziz University, became an Al-Ahli Club fan while at high school after she noticed that all girls in her class were divided into groups according to the football teams they supported.

“Although I am the only girl at home and my brothers are addicted to football, I have never supported a football team as this wasn’t something I was into,” she said. “After joining secondary school, I noticed that all students are divided into groups according to their teams. This prompted me to support Al-Ahli, the team that my friend supported. I’ve been supporting Al-Ahli ever since,” she added.

“Although I’ve finished school and gone on to university, I’m still supporting Al-Ahli even though my old friends are not here with me. I’ve been watching football for many years and I’ve discovered how brilliant the game is; it is an adventure for which I have a lot of enthusiasm. It makes me very happy,” said Al-Amoudi.

Lubna Al-Ghazzawi, a Saudi mother of two teenage girls, said she prefers for her daughters to be fascinated with football, not reality TV programs and soaps. “My  daughters have been in love with Al-Hilal Club since they were very young. They love football and Al-Hilal because they’ve grown up with their father who watches football. They’ve become like their father and support his favorite team,” said Al-Ghazzawi.

“After they grew up and became teenagers, they continued watching football and supporting Al-Hilal with better understanding. They are, unfortunately, a little fanatic in their support for some players. For example, my elder daughter likes Yasser Al-Qahtani because she believes he is handsome, while my younger daughter prefers Mohammed Al-Shalhoub because he is a skillful and fast footballer,” she added.

Al-Ghazzawi feels that watching football is better than spending time watching reality TV shows. “At least they will not spend money watching these matches whereas in reality TV programs people vote with their cell phones and end up spending lots of money,” she said.

Reem Youssef, a 20-year-old Syrian, never showed interest in Saudi football teams until recently when she was influenced by a girl that lives close by and supports Al-Ittihad.

“I wasn’t really into football. Besides Saudi players aren’t as handsome as Syrian players. I however became interested after I began hanging out with a girl that lives close by,” said Youssef.

“She is an only girl and has been supporting Al-Ittihad since she was a child. She’s an ardent fan. I like the way she supports her team and she has a lot of football memorabilia expressing her support for Al-Ittihad,” said Youssef.

“My friend has also made a business out of her support for Al-Ittihad — she sells Al-Ittihad memorabilia at school. She makes special items in the team’s colors of black and yellow for other girls. The items she makes are very feminine-like and elegant. She also makes mobile phone covers, hats, scarves, necklaces and bracelets,” she added.