Football in Saudi Arabia transforming with more women actively playing the game
NEOM’s
push to expand women’s sport is unlocking unprecedented opportunities across
Saudi Arabia, with women’s football emerging as a powerful catalyst for social
change, participation and long-term growth.
With the countdown underway to the FIFA World Cup 2034, football sits at the
centre of NEOM’s ambition to foster a more physically active society in the
Kingdom — for women as well as men. Few, however, could have predicted the pace
of transformation in women’s football, a sport that has become a cornerstone of
NEOM’s broader strategic vision.
Women were first permitted to attend
football matches in Saudi Arabia in 2018. Although women and girls had played
informally in private settings before then, the first official community match
took place in Riyadh just five years ago. Since that moment, momentum has
accelerated rapidly. Today, around 77,000 girls play football weekly across the
Kingdom — a 46 per cent increase since 2022.
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Global visibility has also grown. At
the start of the 2025–26 season, the Saudi Women’s Premier League expanded its
international reach by broadcasting matches on the All Women’s Sports Network, founded by actor
and television personality Whoopi Goldberg.
Game-changing
progress
Mark
Abberley, Acting Sector Head for Sport at NEOM, describes the development
of women’s football in Saudi Arabia as “remarkable” and says the game has “transformed”
in just a few short years.
That progress was underscored in
March, when the NEOM Sports Club Women’s Football Team secured promotion to the
Saudi Women’s Premier League, the highest tier of the women’s game in the
Kingdom. The league, now featuring 10 teams, was established in 2020 to drive
participation and create a sustainable competitive structure.
Youth development has been critical.
Programmes such as the Shuhub Youth Community Football initiative, launched in
2022, have helped formalise pathways from schools into organised football.
Domestic clubs are now running girls’ academies, while women are increasingly
stepping into coaching, refereeing and leadership roles.
“The sport is creating careers as
well as competition,” Abberley says.
Participation
and pathways
NEOM’s landmark report, Pioneering
Change: Women’s Football in Saudi Arabia, published earlier this year,
documents the scale of progress and outlines future opportunities. Developed in
collaboration with organisations including the Saudi Arabian Football
Federation (SAFF), the Ministry of Sport, the Sports for All Federation and the
Asian Football Confederation, the report highlights how coordinated action has
driven participation growth.
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Between 2022 and 2023 alone, the
number of registered women footballers increased by 112 per cent. Referee
numbers rose by 66 per cent, participation in domestic competitions jumped by
200 per cent, and the Kingdom now boasts more than 1,800 licensed coaches in
the women’s game.
Investment at elite level has
followed structural reform, including legislation mandating equal pay for
national men’s and women’s teams. Interest from international investors has
also grown, highlighted by the Harburg Group’s acquisition of Al Kholood in
July 2025 — the first foreign ownership of a Saudi football club.
“These indicators show the depth of
opportunity in women’s football and its role in driving strategic progress
across communities,” Abberley adds.
Community-based
growth beyond football
The rise of women’s football has
helped accelerate participation across women’s sport more broadly. During the
first half of the decade, female participation in sport across Saudi Arabia
increased by 149 per cent, supported by new talent pathways in both Olympic and
non-Olympic disciplines.
At a local level, NEOM Sports Club
has played a central role. The club now operates three women’s academy teams
and applies the same development standards to both genders. More than 400
people from the Tabuk region — women and men of all ages — are now involved
across sports ranging from football and martial arts to esports.
For NEOM, the focus is long-term:
investing in local talent, strengthening grassroots foundations and building
sustainable sporting ecosystems.
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“Women’s football has become a
catalyst for wider participation,” Abberley says. “It is helping to redefine
sports culture, promote healthier lifestyles and advance gender equality in
line with Vision 2030.”
Strategic
alignment and partnerships
Saudi Arabia’s Quality of Life
Program, a pillar of Vision 2030, places equality and access at the centre of
efforts to boost participation in sport, culture and community activity. More
than 103,000 memberships have been registered across neighbourhood clubs, with
strong female engagement.
Participation is also rising across
events and initiatives. In 2024, more than 100 women took part in the Global
Goals World Cup, 940 athletes competed in the Sand Clash fitness competition,
and nearly 25,000 people joined community walking challenges through the Sports
for All app. Over 1,800 hobby clubs are now active nationwide, offering
cultural and creative outlets alongside sport.
Commercial and strategic
partnerships have reinforced this momentum. In 2024, Rexona became the first
exclusive sponsor of the Saudi national women’s football team. NEOM, meanwhile,
was unveiled as Presenting Partner of the AFC Women’s Champions League and
serves as the official global partner of the AFC Women’s Asia Cup 2026 and all
women’s competitions under the confederation.
Building
future expertise
Beyond participation, NEOM is
investing heavily in talent development across the sports industry.
Collaborations with global organisations such as McLaren Racing, the Rajasthan
Royals and the AFC are designed to connect Saudi talent with world-class
expertise.
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Through STEM-focused education
programmes, secondments and leadership development initiatives, participants
gain exposure to elite sporting environments and international best practice.
NEOM’s graduate programme, for example, places young Saudis at McLaren’s
headquarters in the UK for six to 12 months, allowing them to work across
commercial, engineering, IT and advanced projects before returning to apply
those skills at home.
“NEOM takes a 360-degree approach,”
Abberley says. “From grassroots to elite sport, and from athletes to
administrators, we are building clear pathways that future-proof both
individual careers and the wider sports industry in Saudi Arabia.”
Source: www.sportbusiness.com
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