Riyadh: In a bid to encourage women to play sports in the country, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday kicked off its first ever women’s football tournament.
In the tournament, 24 teams from Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam are taking part for championship cup and cash prize of $133,000.
More women likely to get encouraged
Abdullah Alyami, Saudi football coach and sports reporter said that more women are likely to take part in the future tournament.
Although the tournament was scheduled to start in the month of March, it was postponed due to coronavirus pandemic.
Expressing her views, Maram Al-Butairi, general manager and head coach at Dammam-based Eastern Flames FC said that the delay had actually helped them in preparing for the tournament.
Saudi citizens’ views
A 16-year-old girl Najla Ahmed, resident of Riyadh said that she would play for a local team in the year 2021.
Another girl Al-Shammary said that she hopes more sports would be opened up to women.
The tournament will be broadcast.
In January 2018, the Kingdom opened stadium for women football support and now it is encouraging them to play it.
It is expected that soon, the Kingdom will allow women to participate in other sports too.