KARACHI: When Fatima Reyadh, 34, received a call from Bahrain’s Al-Najma Club to coach the men’s basketball team, she thought she was being offered a role for the club’s junior teams. Reyadh was surprised to discover that the club wanted her to coach the senior men’s team, making her the “first female coach in the Arab region” of a senior men’s basketball team in the Gulf region.

“Nobody is used to a female coach coaching a senior [men’s team],” Reyadh told Arab News.

Basketball coach Fatima Reyadh speaks to a player as her team, Al-Najma Club, plays against one of the most prominent teams in Bahrain, Manama Club, during last season's  Zain League (2021-2022) at Sh. Khalifa Arena, Bahrain (Instagram: Fatima Reyadh)

Reyadh said she had to work twice as hard to prove herself when it came to coaching the senior team.  She says people had doubts about her abilities as a coach due to her being a woman and thought she lacked knowledge of the sport.  

“They don’t know I earned the spot because of my [hard] work,” she said.

Fatima Reyadh with her daughter Huma at the art studio, Artology, earlier this year. (Instagram: Fatima Reyadh)

A business graduate from Bahrain’s Applied Science University, Reyadh also works as a technical specialist at the General Sports Authority in Bahrain. She has been a single mother of a seven-year-old daughter for the past five years.

Venturing into unchartered territory meant Reyadh had to deal with a lot of flak. She says people frequently criticize her on social media for coaching men and instead, urge her to to cook, clean, stay at home and be a traditional housewife.

 

“I have been through all that so I am used to it now,” she said.  “No one wants to coach men, I took the first step,” she added.

 

Reyadh’s tryst with basketball began when as a five-year-old, she accompanied her mother to basketball training sessions. Her mother had coached Bahrain’s women’s basketball team for over a decade. A taekwondo black belt, Reyadh also had other athletic achievements under her belt.

She was also a member of Bahrain’s first national swimming and taekwondo teams at the age of 16. After that, she decided to try something new.

 

“I had all the fundamental skills so I [played] basketball in the Secondary [level] and then it went on till university and ahead,” she said.

Fatima Reyadh with the Applied Science University men's team after securing first position in the 3-on-3 Basketball tournament in 2021, at Zain Arena, Bahrain. (Instagram: Fatima Reyadh)

Reyadh also took part in sporting clinics and secured basketball certifications while undergoing Level 4 in the national coaching program from Canada.

 

“To be where I am, you have to have certain certifications and accreditations from FIBA (International Basketball Federation) and other clinics here in Bahrain,” she said. “You have to have seven years of coaching experience. I did all of that,” she added.

 

Reyadh has been a coach for eight years now. She was the assistant coach of the national women’s basketball team and also coached at Bahrain’s Isa Town Club and Al-Hala Club before she started coaching men. Initially, she coached the Under-17 and Under-21 boys’ basketball teams at clubs.

This is her second season with the senior men’s team at Al-Najma Club. In the beginning, Reyadh said everyone was hesitant about her encountering difficulties when interacting with players.

 

A month later, it became easier.  “I am used to handling my players now,” she said. “I am treating them as if they are any other players.”

The response from the players was the same as well, she said. During the first month, the senior men’s team gave her more support than usual.

 

“Fast forward to a month or so, they were treating me as any other coach,” she added.