SFA signs MoU with UAE counterparts to boost sport

Monika Staab’s dream is that Saudi Arabia’s women’s national team will be among the best in the world within the next decade.

For the German coach, it could be first in Asia and then hopefully at the World Cup.

When that happens, we’ll look back on 2022 as the year that changed the kingdom’s women’s football forever.

In February, under the tutelage of Stubb, the national team played its first international matches against Maldives and Seychelles in Male. They made more history earlier this month with their first two international matches against Bhutan on home soil.

“It’s another step in getting a good experience for the national team players, because that’s what they lack,” Stubbs said. “They didn’t have a lot of games, or they didn’t have any or a lot of games in the past. So we had two great first games in the Maldives against the Seychelles and the Maldives and we both won 2-0. So we wanted to play in Bhutan. Play football, but because of COVID-19, we can’t get into the country, it’s difficult.”

“So we decided to come to Saudi Arabia, to play both games in Abha. And, of course, Bhutan is a very strong opponent, they just played in the SAFA Cup. They came after that game. , played these games. It was a real challenge for our team to play against them.”

In the first game, Saudi fell two goals down at half-time to draw 3-3, while in the second game they beat Bhutan 4-2.

“I have to admit, Bhutan was really strong, knew our strengths and played really well. And our team was not as competitive as the first game, but ended up losing 4-2 in the end , I believe every defeat, every defeat, you can learn more from it. Hopefully it’s a good lesson for the national team players about what we still need to do to be in the AFC Championship really competitive.”

The lack of match training was another factor in both games, which Staab hopes to address in the months and years to come.

“The biggest problem was when we ended our game in the Maldives at the end of February, (at the time) they actually hadn’t played since the end of September. So we’re talking about almost seven months. They didn’t play 11-a-side. ,” Stubb said.

“Twelve players took part in the GCC Futsal Championship in Kuwait and then the West Arabia Championship in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where they won the silver medal, which was also a huge success for them. But They didn’t play 11s so we had almost 16 days of training camp in Austria and then we had about 15 days of training in Abha to prepare for two international games. But in the end, if you don’t play real 11-a-side games, which means the experience is still not there.”

Tournament experience will undoubtedly increase thanks to the launch of the 8-team Saudi Women’s Super League earlier this month, as well as the 17-team Serie A (formerly the Women’s Regional League).

“So now I’m very, very happy that the league has started and we’ve seen some incredible games in Jeddah and Riyadh. So that’s where most of the national players are, they’re playing in their own clubs, which is great. So that’s where they now gain experience every week, learning how to stick to 90 minutes and have enough strength and stamina in the last minute to play games over 90 minutes.”

The establishment of these competitive league structures should lead to more talented footballers across the country, she believes.

“It’s unbelievable,” Stubbs said. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for our coaches, assistant coaches, to watch the performance of the players, the players we’ve selected, on a weekly basis. And the players will also be looking, especially the young players who I think they’ll show up. I’ve seen in Al-Yamamah that there are already two very young players, 15. So that’s what we’re looking for in this league, every weekend there’s some new players coming out, especially young players, because I think that’s It’s the future.”

Staab also highlighted the role played by the Saudi Arabian Football Association, in particular Aalia Al-Rasheed, head of women’s football, and Lamia Bahaian, supervisor and board member.

“I’m very happy and delighted that this league has finally started under the leadership of Aalia and Lamia, who have made everything possible and this league will be played in a real league format, not just a tournament like we did last year.”

The standards of the new league have been raised with the participation of the country’s five largest clubs – Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, Al-Shabab and Al-Ahli.

“It’s a great development because now we’re looking for (teams) that can have facilities and they work very professionally because the men’s team is already established in Saudi Arabia. And now they’re willing to take on the women’s game. I mean, Germany It took over 40 years for this to happen – a very, very strong first division men’s team put together a women’s team.”

“It’s amazing what these women have done,” Stubbs said. “Of course, Adwa Al-Arifi from the sports ministry was involved. They played the game, Adwa, Lamia and Aalia, they knew what they were doing and it was a pleasure working with them.”

Having a quota of foreign players, which leaves room for the development of Saudi players, is generally positive for the women’s game and should boost the level of local players, Stubb said.

Staab also proposed the establishment of three regional training centers in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam to tap domestic talent between the ages of 5 and 17. The aim is to develop the national team for the Saudi age group in the future.

For now, the Saudi senior team’s schedule will also get busier.

“I did a year-round calendar. So we’re going to have about 10 races in one year (2023),” Staab said. “That’s what we’re trying to fit in, that’s what the (regular) FIFA calendar offers.”

Several matches will soon be announced at the start of the new year ahead of another landmark date for Saudi women’s football.

“On March 31, 2023, you will see Saudi Arabia’s women’s football enter the ranks of FIFA, another milestone and another major achievement for women’s football in Saudi Arabia. I have just joined President Al-Misehal ), he was very supportive, he said we need to play these games. They are all very supportive of the women’s game.”

Staab also proposed a GCC Cup for women.

“I think this is going to happen very soon because Kuwait is building a young national team now. We have Oman … with their futsal team coming to Jeddah, the UAE has been in the past few years And Bahrain, since I built the national team in 2007. So they’ve been growing. So it will be great to play in the GCC Men’s Cup and the GCC Women’s Cup.”

Saudi Arabia is also bidding to host the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, which will mark the country’s first participation in the 21st edition.

“If they win the bid, it will (give us) another four years to have a strong team out there competing. So we will have to wait until April next year to make that decision.”

Staab’s long-term plan is to play enough competitive international competitions for her national team to be competitive by 2026. However, the ambition goes far beyond that.

“Not only am I in charge of the regional training centers, I want young players to come up because that’s your foundation, that’s your foundation. I’m also in charge of coaching education,” Stubb said.

“We’ve now trained over 135 C-License coaches, 10 B-License coaches. Good coaches, especially female coaches, mean you have better players,” she said. “So I’m really desperate to have good coaches, Saudi coaches who can take over everything one day, so we don’t need them all from abroad. They gain experience, they’re supervised, they gain the ability to develop as coaches because I still believe in women’s football , you need female coaches. It’s also for your culture, for your parents.”

“Officials dream of playing in the World Cup,” she added. “It’s a big dream, of course. I know Aalia, Adwa and Lamia want to leave as soon as possible, but probably not (in 2027). We have 2031 or 2035 and we’ll have to see how it goes, but I can See how fast we are running now.”

Staab said the five-year groundbreaking period will eventually bear fruit.

“That’s how you can achieve,” she said. “If you work hard, if you have determination, if you have determination, if you have this passion, all these people, and the players in the national team have this passion for the game. Let’s see how much we end up getting there. Far.

“I think in Saudi Arabia anything is possible.”