The recently formed Saudi Arabia women’s national team will make their international debut when they take on Seychelles on Sunday, February 20, with Maldives to follow four days later in international friendly matches.
Coached by Monika Staab, women’s football in Saudi Arabia is benefitting from the vast experience of the 63-year-old German who previously coached Bahrain in 2007 before a one-year spell in Qatar in 2013.
A former midfielder, Staab had great coaching success with 1. FFC Frankfurt whom she led to the UEFA Women’s Champions League in 2002 in addition to several league and cup titles in Germany.
The formation of the Saudi Arabia women’s national team follows the conclusion of the first edition of the Saudi Women’s League in 2021 which saw the participation of eight clubs who qualified to the topflight after competing in the regional league.
The Saudi Arabia women’s national team are currently in their second phase of preparations before travelling to Maldives on Wednesday ahead of their international debut.
“We started searching for players since last September as we are looking to start the national team’s journey and compete in official and international competitions,” said Staab.
“Through this camp, we want to find the consistency we are looking for before playing against Seychelles and Maldives.”
The long-term dream of the women’s football team is to emulate the men’s team, with Saudi Arabia having won the AFC Asian Cup three times and regularly qualify for the FIFA World Cup Finals.
“The establishment of the first official Saudi league through the regional league and then the Kingdom’s championship had a major role in the selection process,” Staab said.
“We want to be fully prepared when we take part in our first official competition,” concluded the German coach.
