Saudi women’s football reaping benefits of game’s boom in the Kingdom

Saudi women’s football reaping benefits of game’s boom in the Kingdom
Over the past 12 months a national women’s team has been established, playing a number of international friendlies and tournaments in order to receive official FIFA recognition and ranking (AFP)
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Updated 03 February 2023

Saudi women’s football reaping benefits of game’s boom in the Kingdom

Saudi women’s football reaping benefits of game’s boom in the Kingdom
  • The Green Falcons’ performances at Qatar 2022 and Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr should inspire as many female footballers as male ones

Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival at Al-Nassr will inspire a generation of Saudi children to take up the game, which it is hoped will lead to future success on the international stage for the Green Falcons.

After the exploits in Qatar at the end of 2022 and that famous victory over eventual champions Argentina, the sky is the limit and everyone in Saudi Arabia is now dreaming of a bigger and brighter future.

And everyone means everyone, including the female footballers of Saudi Arabia. In fact, especially the female footballers of Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation, under the leadership of president, and newly elected FIFA Congress member, Yasser Al-Misehal, have been bullish in their ambitions for the women’s game.

Over the past 12 months a national women’s team has been established, playing a number of international friendlies and tournaments in order to receive official FIFA recognition and ranking. This saw the team recently host and win their first international tournament on home soil.

At his opening press conference, Ronaldo made a point of highlighting his desire to be an inspiration, not just for young boys but also for female footballers in the country.

“I’m grateful that Al-Nassr gave me this opportunity to show and develop not only the football, but also for the generation, the young generation, the woman’s generation as well,” Ronaldo said.

“So for me, it’s a good chance to change (and) to help with my knowledge and my experience, to help to grow many, many important points. Also, many people probably didn’t know, but Al-Nassr they have a woman’s football (team) as well, and I want to give a different vision of the country, of the football, (and) the perspective of everybody.”

 

 

Hearing those words meant the world to Sarah Khalid, the young goalkeeper of Al-Nassr’s women’s team, who lead the league by one point with just two games remaining.

“(It) definitely means a lot hearing that coming from, let’s say, a football legend like Cristiano Ronaldo,” she told Arab News from Riyadh.

“His words were really inspirational to us, and let’s say it fuels us to move forward and achieve the league (this season).”

Also inspired was a national team colleague of Khalid’s, Talah Al-Ghamdi, who plays her club football for Al-Ittihad.

“Of course, Cristiano is a legend, so he always inspires me by his motivation, his determination and his hard work,” she told Arab News.

“So when I found that he talked about women’s football and he wants to support women’s football, I was very happy, very motivated, and getting motivated from a legend like him is a very good thing.”

Women’s football in the Kingdom has undertaken a rapid transformation in recent years with significant investment in grassroots development, as well as the national team and league structures.

The introduction this season of the first national league, with powerhouse clubs such as Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal getting on board, has been a welcome step forward for the game.

For Al-Ghamdi, getting to play for Al-Ittihad, a club that she and her family have supported their entire lives, is a dream come true.

“I was honored when I found out that I’ll play for Al-Ittihad, I was very happy,” she said.

“Playing for Ittihad is such an honor. I couldn’t describe my feelings when I found out, and of course my family, my dad is very happy. My dad is a big fan of Ittihad, so I grew up with Ittihad everywhere, like in every detail in my life.

“Honestly, I used to live two minutes away from Ittihad Club, so every trophy Ittihad won we used to go to the Ittihad club to celebrate and celebrate on the streets . . . so I have a lot of memories,” Al-Ghammdi said.

For Khalid, whose family are all Ettifaq fans, there is a special feeling that comes from being one of the modern pioneers of the women’s game in Saudi Arabia.

“It is very exciting to see the development of the women’s football in Saudi Arabia,” Khalid said.

“And for me, personally, I’m very honored and proud to be a part of that. I hope to inspire the younger generation to pursue this field to start playing and continue playing so the journey can continue and we accomplish more and more.”

That journey, Khalid and Al-Ghamdi hope, will one day involve playing in the Women’s World Cup. Both were fortunate enough, along with the rest of their national team, to be inside Lusail Stadium when the Green Falcons scored their historic victory over Argentina to open the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

While they are just starting on their international journey, and a long way from qualifying for the Women’s World Cup, which this year will be held in Australia and New Zealand, it didn’t stop them from dreaming about their own miracle.

“It was a very special day to witness,” Khalid recalled. “A historical win for Saudi Arabia against Argentina, and that definitely pushes us to chase our dream, which is playing in the Woman’s World Cup . . . and hopefully to win it one day.”

While the World Cup may be a distant dream, the Asian Cup may be just over the horizon with Saudi Arabia officially bidding to host the next edition of the tournament in 2026, which would come with automatic qualification.

While some may question whether that is too soon for a national team very much in its infancy, it follows the natural ambition of Saudi Arabia to turbo-charge its football development at every level.

“The future of women’s football in Saudi Arabia is bright and we are committed to growing the game here and throughout Asia,” Al-Misehal said when they launched their bid late last year.

“More and more young girls are playing football in this country and we want to inspire them further.

“Hosting the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 would be a great occasion for our players and would be made memorable by the passion of our fans.”

Monika Staab, the legendary German coach tasked with developing the national team, agreed.

“This is an opportunity to bring the tournament to life, inspire a generation, and turbo-charge the continued growth of women’s football,” she said.

“We see this as a chance to improve technical performance and show the world our homegrown talent.”


Ronaldo’s words of praise sprinkle stardust on ‘competitive’ Saudi Pro League

Ronaldo’s words of praise sprinkle stardust on ‘competitive’ Saudi Pro League
Updated 24 March 2023

Ronaldo’s words of praise sprinkle stardust on ‘competitive’ Saudi Pro League

Ronaldo’s words of praise sprinkle stardust on ‘competitive’ Saudi Pro League
  • Back in Portugal for first time since Riyadh move, Al-Nassr player lauds standard of football in Saudi Arabia

RIYADH: It is a sign that a league is a significant one that when foreign players go back to their home countries for international duty, comments to their native media about the leagues where they play football and the clubs they are at make headlines around the world.

Unsurprisingly, it helps when that foreign player is Cristiano Ronaldo. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner signed for Al-Nassr at the end of December and looks to have enjoyed his time in Saudi Arabia so far, scoring nine goals in eight league games for the title-chasing club.

For the first time since arriving in Riyadh, the 38-year-old is back in Europe and preparing with Portugal for two 2024 European Championship qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Luxembourg. Given that Ronaldo moving to Mrsool Park was a huge deal, it is natural that local journalists have been asking the former Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Juventus star what the Roshn Saudi League is like.

He said: “I think you should look at the (Saudi Pro League) in a different way. I’m not going to say that the league is a Premier League, that would be a lie.

“But it’s a very competitive league that I’m positively surprised by, a very balanced league and good teams. I am sure that in the coming years the league will be ... the fourth, fifth, or sixth most competitive league in the world,” the attacker added.

It has made headlines around the world. Some newspapers and websites said that the claim was “bold,” while others talked of it being “astonishing.”

There may have been some eyebrows raised but here was one of the best players ever and currently the most famous (he has 564 million followers on Instagram, more than any other person in the world) talking in positive terms about football in Saudi Arabia. Only the biggest leagues in the world can dream of such exposure.

Cynics would say that it is in the interests of players to be complimentary of football in the country in which they play and the club that pays their salary but there is a long history of the opposite happening.

There have been many times when stars have gone home to play World Cup qualifiers and have said something negative about club coaches, team-mates, or food back in the place where they are employed.

When it upsets people back at their clubs then the time-honored excuse is that the player was misquoted or the comments were taken out of context.

Kim Min-jae, now with Napoli, once had to back track quickly when he appeared to question the level of defending among his Beijing team-mates when back home in Korea.

Obviously, the reverse is much more pleasant for coaches, team-mates, and fans to hear. Praise always goes down well. The first part of Ronaldo’s comments were clear for all to see and hard to dispute. The league is competitive.

Just look at Al-Hilal. The Blues are the most successful team in Saudi Arabian and Asian history and in February defeated the champions of Africa and South America to book a FIFA Club World Cup final with Real Madrid. The 5-3 defeat against the European giants was an exciting spectacle for fans and won respect for the losers from those watching on every continent.

Just a few days later, the Riyadh giants were booking a place in the Asian Champions League final in February with a 7-0 thrashing of Al-Duhail of Qatar in the semi-final. Al-Hilal are currently in fourth and desperately trying to stay in touch with the top three.

Al-Shabab in third, Al-Nassr in second, and Al-Ittihad, currently in pole position, are three of the top teams in Asia and there is strength going all the way down the league. Indeed, Al-Faisaly in the second tier, reached the knockout stage of the 2022 Champions League.

Whether the league could become one of the top six in the world will be seen in the future. For now, it is a matter of debate, but it is a debate that league officials would love to see happen in Europe and elsewhere. This is one of the benefits of signing famous foreign players.

There are plenty of top foreign players in Saudi Arabia who play for international teams. In the next few days, there could be four facing each other in the same game. Al-Wehda’s Abderrazak Hamdallah and Mounir Al-Mohammadi of 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Morocco will take on Brazil in a friendly on Saturday and the following Tuesday, the Atlas Lions take on Peru with Andre Carrillo of Al-Hilal and Christopher Gonzalez from Al-Adalah.

The likes of Ahmed Hegazi and Tarek Hamad of Al-Ittihad are regulars for Egypt, Al-Shabab goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu is South Korea’s No. 1, and there is also Grzegorz Krychowiak who was with Poland at the World Cup.

As more international players and coaches come to Saudi Arabia, more of them can see a thriving and competitive league with talented local players, who showed what they are made of at the World Cup, and can then go home and spread the word.


Argentina beat Panama in first match after World Cup title

Argentina beat Panama in first match after World Cup title
Updated 24 March 2023

Argentina beat Panama in first match after World Cup title

Argentina beat Panama in first match after World Cup title
  • Argentina’s full squad in Qatar attended the match and took pictures in front of the World Cup replica trophy before kick off

BUENOS AIRES: The 83,000 screaming fans were not disappointed in Lionel Messi and his Argentina team’s first international match since lifting the World Cup title last December.

Messi’s Argentina beat Panama 2-0 with two late goals Thursday night at the Monumental de Nunez Stadium in Buenos Aires, in the first of two matches for the team to celebrate their triumph in Qatar.

Thiago Almada opened the scoring in the 78th minute, pushing the ball into an empty net after a free kick taken by Messi hit the post. Eleven minutes later, the Argentine great netted the second with another free kick to the delight of the capacity crowd.

It was Messi’s 800th goal in his professional career. If he scores another in Argentina’s next friendly against Curacao on Tuesday, he will hit the mark of 100 goals for the national team.

Argentina’s full squad in Qatar attended the match and took pictures in front of the World Cup replica trophy before kick off. Messi and others brought their families to the stadium.

The match culminates a week in which the 35-year-old Messi was widely celebrated as a hero after helping Argentina win their third World Cup title, a remarkable change from years when some of the same fans accused him of apathy with the national team.
 


Reports: Bayern on verge of firing Nagelsmann for Tuchel

Reports: Bayern on verge of firing Nagelsmann for Tuchel
Updated 24 March 2023

Reports: Bayern on verge of firing Nagelsmann for Tuchel

Reports: Bayern on verge of firing Nagelsmann for Tuchel
  • Both Kicker magazine and German tabloid Bild reported that Bayern was ending Nagelsmann’s spell in charge

MUNICH: Bayern Munich might be about to change coaches for the final stretch of the season.

The German champions were on the verge of firing Julian Nagelsmann and replacing him with Thomas Tuchel, according to reports in Germany on Thursday.

Both Kicker magazine and German tabloid Bild reported that Bayern was ending Nagelsmann’s spell in charge following the team’s 2-1 loss at Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

That defeat dropped Bayern to second place, one point behind Borussia Dortmund before the teams clash in Munich on April 1.

The club hasn’t commented officially. The Associated Press has asked Bayern for comment.

Kicker reported that Bayern is in touch with Tuchel and that the German coach is expected to join Friday or Saturday. Tuchel led Chelsea to the Champions League title in 2021 and previously coached Paris Saint-Germain and Dortmund.

Bayern face Manchester City in the Champions League quarterfinals on April 11.


Kane sets scoring record in England's 2-1 win over Italy

Kane sets scoring record in England's 2-1 win over Italy
Updated 24 March 2023

Kane sets scoring record in England's 2-1 win over Italy

Kane sets scoring record in England's 2-1 win over Italy
  • The match marked England’s first win over Italy in a competitive match since a World Cup qualifier at Wembley back in 1977 — and its first away win over Italy since 1961

NAPLES, Italy: Harry Kane broke Wayne Rooney’s national team scoring record and England held on for a 2-1 win at Italy on the opening night of European Championship qualifying on Thursday.
It was a small measure of revenge for England against the team it lost to in the European Championship final two years ago. Italy also won the last meeting in September in the Nations League.
It marked England’s first win over Italy in a competitive match since a World Cup qualifier at Wembley back in 1977 — and its first away win over Italy since 1961.
“We haven’t won in Italy for so long," Kane said. “To score and win the game is special.”
It was another blow to an Italy squad that had failed to qualify for a second straight World Cup.
“We knew it was a difficult game, but we conceded two goals from two corners,” Italy coach Roberto Mancini said. “The first half was tougher, obviously. But we dominated the second half and tried to get at least a draw, which I think would have been a fair result. It’s disappointing, but there’s a long road ahead.
“We might be starting with an uphill struggle this time, but let’s hope we end it better.”
Kane earned and converted a penalty toward the end of the first half for his 54th goal with England after Declan Rice’s opener at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
“It means everything,” Kane said. “It had to be a penalty of course and once it hit the back of the net it was just so much emotion.”
Argentine-born striker Mateo Retegui pulled one back for Italy on his debut early in the second half.
England played the final 12 minutes with 10 men after Luke Shaw picked up a second yellow card for a foul on Retegui.
Also in Group C, North Macedonia beat Malta 2-1.
The penalty was assigned following a VAR review after it was determined that defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo touched the ball with his hand while attempting to prevent Kane from reaching a corner.
Kane then stepped up to the spot and sent Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma the wrong way as he drilled a shot inside the right post in the 44th minute.
Rooney played for England from 2003 to 2018, while Kane made his England debut in 2015.
Kane was also involved in the first goal, when he had a shot blocked following a corner and Rice redirected in the rebound.
Also, Jack Grealish missed an easy chance to make it 3-0 for England.
It was nearly all England until Italy came alive after the break and Retegui finished off a counterattack following a passing sequence involving Marco Verratti and Lorenzo Pellegrini.
“(Retegui) had difficulties in the first half, as the England defenders are physically strong and limited him,” Mancini said. “He moved better after the break, but he is young, he plays his football in Argentina, so he needs time.”
Italy wore shirts that featured a dedication to former striker and delegation chief Gianluca Vialli, who died in January at age 58 from pancreatic cancer. “Luca, Azzurri per sempre” (Luca, Azzurri forever) was printed on the back of the collars.
Italy visits Malta on Sunday, when England hosts Ukraine.


Ronaldo breaks men’s international caps record, scores double

Ronaldo breaks men’s international caps record, scores double
Updated 24 March 2023

Ronaldo breaks men’s international caps record, scores double

Ronaldo breaks men’s international caps record, scores double
  • Ronaldo netted a 51st-minute penalty after earlier goals from Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Silva, before drilling home a free-kick 12 minutes later
  • “I want to become the most capped player in history. That would make me proud,” he said

LISBON: Cristiano Ronaldo broke the men’s international appearance record on Thursday and marked the occasion by scoring twice in Portugal’s 4-0 thrashing of Liechtenstein in Euro 2024 qualifying.
The 38-year-old, who was dropped from the Portuguese first-choice XI during the World Cup in Qatar last year, won a 197th cap for his country in Lisbon as a starter.
He netted a 51st-minute penalty after earlier goals from Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Silva, before drilling home a free-kick 12 minutes later.
It was Ronaldo’s record-extending 120th goal for his country and made him the first man to score 100 times in competitive internationals.
“Records are my motivation,” Ronaldo had told reporters on Wednesday.
“I want to become the most capped player in history. That would make me proud.
“But it doesn’t stop there, I still want to be called up very often.”
Ronaldo made his international debut in 2003 and became the first man to score in five World Cups last year before Portugal lost to Morocco in the quarter-finals.
He is currently playing for Saudi club Al Nassr after an acrimonious end to his second spell at Manchester United.
Ronaldo’s appearance off the bench in the defeat by Morocco equalled the previous mark of 196 caps held by Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa.
He left the pitch in tears following Portugal’s shock 1-0 loss against the North Africans.
Since leaving Europe, Ronaldo has scored nine goals in 10 matches for Al Nassr.
He was replaced as the starting striker by Goncalo Ramos during the World Cup, with the Benfica youngster scoring a hat-trick in a last-16 win over Switzerland.
But veteran coach Fernando Santos stepped down following the tournament and new boss Roberto Martinez has immediately put his faith in Ronaldo, who also captained the side.
There were questions over whether his 20-year international career had ended in Qatar as Ronaldo will be 39 by the time Euro 2024 kicks off.
But Martinez, who left his role as Belgium coach after the World Cup, has strongly defended his decision to keep Ronaldo in the fold.
“I do not look at the age,” said Martinez when he announced his first squad last week.
The Spaniard added his squad announcement was the “starting point” for Euro 2024, suggesting Ronaldo is likely to be involved if Portugal qualify for the tournament in Germany.
Portugal made the perfect start to their qualification campaign with a straightforward win against Liechtenstein.
Cancelo scored the only goal of the first half in the eighth minute but the floodgates opened after the break.
Bernardo Silva doubled the advantage less than two minutes into the second period before Ronaldo hammered a penalty into the bottom corner.
A powerful free-kick from the edge of the box flew through the hands of goalkeeper Benjamin Buchel to complete the scoring.
Ronaldo was substituted late on for Ramos, with the much expected changing of the guard put on the back burner.
Ronaldo adds the international appearance landmark to an impressive list of individual records.
He is the leading goalscorer in European Championship finals with 14 goals and has netted a record 140 times in the Champions League.
Ronaldo has also finished as the top-scorer in three of Europe’s top five leagues — in England, Spain and Italy.
Portugal will visit Luxembourg in their second Group J qualifier on Sunday.
They have also been drawn alongside Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland and Slovakia.