Saudi Arabia Women's National Football Team
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The Saudi Arabia women's national football team () is the official women's national football team represents
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
. The team is controlled by the
Saudi Arabian Football Federation The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF; ) is the association football, football Sport governing body, governing body of Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1956, It's responsibilities include administration of club competitions and national teams. The ...
(SAFF), the governing body for
football in Saudi Arabia Football is the most popular sport in Saudi Arabia. Football in Saudi Arabia is governed by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation (SAFF) (). It was founded in 1956. It administers both the club competitions and the national football teams of Sa ...
. Colloquially called "the Green Falcons", Saudi Arabia played their first match in 2022 against the
Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...
in a 2–0 win in a friendly tournament in the Maldives.


History


Background

Due to the influence of religious leaders in Saudi Arabia, active opposition of political leaders and sport administrators, and systematic discrimination against
women's sport Women and girls have participated in sports, physical Physical fitness, fitness, and exercise throughout history. However, the extent of their involvement has varied depending on factors such as country, time, geographical location, and level o ...
, a women's national team could not exist for a long time. The creation of a FIFA-recognised women's national team was banned by law in 2008. Systemic discrimination remained intact despite limited reforms, until the death of King
Abdullah Abdullah may refer to: * Abdullah (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Abdullah, Kargı, Turkey, a village * ''Abdullah'' (film), a 1980 Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Khan * '' Abdullah: The Final Witness'', a 2015 Pakis ...
in 2015. With King
Salman Salman may refer to: People * Salman (name), people with the name Places in Iran * Salman, Khuzestan, a village in Khuzestan Province * Salman, alternate name of Deh-e Salman, Lorestan, a village in Lorestan Province * Salman, Razavi Khorasa ...
's ascension to the throne in 2015, talks about football reforms escalated. However, his son
Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (; born 31 August 1985), also known as MBS or MbS, is the ''de facto'' ruler of the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, formally serving as Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Sa ...
was the first to spearhead the reforms, including to
women's football Women's football most often refers to: * Women's association football Women's football may also refer to: * Women's gridiron football * Women's Australian rules football * Ladies' Gaelic football * Women's rugby league * Women's rugby union ...
. Saudi Arabia allowed women to attend football games since 2017, the first step for a future creation of a women's football team. In December 2019, the
Saudi Arabian Football Federation The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF; ) is the association football, football Sport governing body, governing body of Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1956, It's responsibilities include administration of club competitions and national teams. The ...
(SAFF) organised the first unofficial women's competition in the
Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...
area. An official nationwide tournament, the amateur
Saudi Women's Football League The Saudi Women's Premier League officially the SAFF Women's Premier League () is the top flight of women's football in Saudi Arabia. History The first Saudi women's club were King's United based in Jeddah, and Eastern Flames in Dhahran. Bo ...
, was launched in February 2020, concentrated in three big cities:
Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...
, Jeddah, and
Dammam Dammam (Arabic: الدمام ad-Dammām) is a city and governorate, and the capital of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 1,386,166 as of 2022, making it the country's fifth- ...
. Following the creation of the league, calls for a creation of a women's national team increased.


Inception

On 11 August 2021, the SAFF appointed
Monika Staab Monika Staab (born 9 January 1959) is a former German football player and currently the technical director of Saudi Arabia. Career From 2012 until 2014, Staab was 15 months in charge of Qatar women's national football team. She was the manager ...
as head coach and Sandra Kälin a
co-coach
of the newly established women's national team. Saudi Arabia played their first games in February 2022, taking part in a friendly tournament in
Malé Malé is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 211,908 in 2022 within its administrative area and coterminous geographical area of , Malé is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city i ...
, Maldives. They debuted on 20 February, beating
Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...
in a 2–0 win. Following the successful debut, Lamia Bin Bahian, a board member of the SAFF, revealed a long-term plan to allow the team to participate in the first
FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...
in the next ten years, with the aim to become a dominant force in the Gulf, West Asia, and Asian level.


Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. ;Legend


2024


2025


Women’s National Team (2024)
SAFF.com.sa


Head-to-head record

;Key The following table shows Saudi Arabia's all-time official international record per opponent: Last updated: Saudi Arabia vs
Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
, 26 February 2025.


Coaching staff


Current coaching staff


Manager history

*
Monika Staab Monika Staab (born 9 January 1959) is a former German football player and currently the technical director of Saudi Arabia. Career From 2012 until 2014, Staab was 15 months in charge of Qatar women's national football team. She was the manager ...
(11 August 2021 – 13 February 2023) *
Rosa Lappi-Seppälä Rosa Lappi-Seppälä (born 4 November 1974) is a Finnish former footballer and football manager who is the assistant coach of Como. Besides Finland, she has played in Nicaragua, Belgium, the United States, and Italy. Career Lappi-Seppälä pla ...
(13 February 2023 – 24 October 2023) *
Lluís Cortés Lluís Cortés (born 10 August 1986) is a Spanish football coach who is the current manager of Saudi Arabia women's national football team. His treble-winning 2020/21 season with Barcelona Femení is widely regarded as one of the greatest se ...
(11 December 2023– present)


Players


Current squad

*The following players were called up for the
Friendly matches An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...
against and in April 2025. ''Caps and goals correct as of 23 February 2024 after the match against ''


Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up to the squad in the past 12 months. INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
PRE Preliminary squad.
SUS Player is serving a suspension.
WD Player withdrew for personal reasons.


Records

*''Active players in bold, statistics correct as of 8 January 2024.''


Most-capped players


Top goalscorers


Competitive record

So far, the team hasn't competed in the FIFA Women's World Cup, the Olympic Games, the Arab Women's Cup, the WAFF Women's Championship or the AFC Women's Asian Cup. They also haven't competed at the Asian Games yet, but as hosts for the 2034 edition they are automatically qualified.


FIFA Women's World Cup

:''*Draws include knockout matches decided on
penalty kicks A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. T ...
.''


Olympic Games

:''*Draws include knockout matches decided on
penalty kicks A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. T ...
.''


Arab Women's Cup


WAFF Women's Championship


AFC Women's Asian Cup


Asian Games

:''*Draws include knockout matches decided on
penalty kicks A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. T ...
.''


See also

*
Saudi Arabia women's national under-20 football team The Saudi Arabia U-20 women's national football team () represents Saudi Arabia in international women's football (soccer), women's football for under 20. The team is controlled by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), the governing body fo ...
*
Saudi Arabia women's national under-17 football team The Saudi Arabia women's national under-17 football team () represents Saudi Arabia in international women's football for under 17. The team is controlled by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), the governing body for football in Saudi A ...


References


External links


XOfficial websiteSaudi Arabia national team websiteFIFA team profile
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Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
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