Saudi Arabia To Host Kingdom’s First Ever Women’s Football Championship
Saudi Arabia will host the 2024 West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Women’s Championship this month – the first official 11-a-side women’s tournament ever held in the Kingdom.
A milestone moment for women’s football in Saudi Arabia, the 2024 WAFF Women’s Championship will take place from 19-29 February in the coastal city of Jeddah with the upcoming eighth edition set to welcome eight teams.
The host nation will be joined by Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and two guests – Guam and Nepal. The tournament will begin in group stage format with two groups of four, followed by the semi-finals and final with matches played at the King Abdullah Sports City and Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City stadiums.
The WAFF Women’s Championship is the latest international football tournament making its way to Jeddah, where the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup had recently been held. Jeddah also played host to the 2022 WAFF Futsal Championship where the national team rose to the occasion in front of its home fans and ended the tournament in second place with a silver medal.
This upcoming edition also marks the Saudi Arabia women’s national team’s first-ever appearance in the WAFF Women’s Championship, as well as the first competition under Lluis Cortes, the new head coach. Since his appointment in December, the team has kicked off a new era in impressive fashion under the former Barcelona treble-winning coach, recording successive 2-0 victories against Syria.
Women’s football in Saudi Arabia is going through an exciting period of progress. The senior women’s national team’s first-ever match in 2022 and entry into the FIFA world rankings in 2023 were milestone moments for women’s football in the Kingdom, while the Women’s Premier and First Division Leagues have sparked greater interest and participation with matches broadcast nationwide and globally.
Additionally, the number of female players, clubs, and referees is growing nationally. Since 2021, the number of professional female players in Saudi Arabia has increased by 195%, with the number of clubs up by 56% and women’s national teams up by 300%. The number of women’s football coaches has risen by 797%, coaching courses by 557%, and referees by 66%.
