Saudi Women's Premier League Explained

Saudi Women's Premier League
Country:Saudi Arabia
Confed:AFC
Teams:10 (since 2024–25)
Relegation:Saudi Women's First Division League
Levels:1
Domest Cup:SAFF Women's Cup
Season:2023–24
Most Successful Club:Al Nassr
Tv:SSC
Shahid (Streaming)
DAZN (outside MENA)Grass Valley
Website:saff.com.sa
Current:2024–25 Saudi Women's Premier League
Sponsor:Lay's & Saudi National Bank
Organiser:Saudi Arabian Football Federation

The Saudi Women's Premier League (Arabic: الدوري السعودي الممتاز للسيدات) is the top flight of women's association football in Saudi Arabia.[1]

History

The first Saudi women's club were King's United based in Jeddah,[2] and Eastern Flames in Dhahran. Both were formed in 2006. Other women's teams were formed after in Riyadh and Dammam. In 2008, the first Saudi women's tournament was held with the participation of seven teams. In December 2019, the Jeddah Women's Football League was held, which was the first women's competition organized by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation; it was won by Jeddah Eagles.[3]

In February 2020, Saudi Arabia decided to launch a football league[4] for women throughout the country.[5] On 17 November 2020, the national league was launched with 24 teams; it was divided into three regions, Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam which represent the Women's Community Football League, and the four best teams qualified to the WFL Champions Cup.[6] Challenge Sports Club won the first edition.[7]

In October 2023, the Saudi Women's Premier League partnered with DAZN, giving them rights to stream the league's matches worldwide.[8] This move reflects the league's major advancements in recent years.

On 14 December 2023, the match between Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad witnessed the presence of FIFA President Gianni Infantino at Prince Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in Jeddah.[9]

On 23 December 2023, the match between Al-Ittihad and Al Nassr witnessed the presence of The Best FIFA Women's Player 2021 and 2022, Spain's Alexia Putellas, at Prince Faisal Bin Fahad stadium (Al Ittihad Club) in Jeddah.[10]

In May 2024, Grass Valley announced a cooperation agreement with Saudi Pro League to distribute the 2024–25 Saudi Women's Premier League matches through its digital platform.[11]

On 31 May 2024, the Saudi Football Federation renewed the exclusive partnership agreement with Saudi National Bank for a period of 3 years to sponsor the Saudi Women's Premier League and also the SAFF Women's Cup.[12]

Current Teams 2024-25

The following ten teams are competing in the 2024–25 season:

Team Location Ground Capacity data-sort-type=number style="background-color:#320061;"2023-24 Season
10,000
To be determined
To be determined
62,345
25,000
15,000
15,000
To be determined
To be determined
To be determined

Champions

By season

SeasonWinnersRunners-upThird placeTop goalscorerGoals
Al Nassr Shokhan Salihi (Al Hilal) 43
Al Nassr Al-Ahli Ibtissam Jraïdi (Al-Ahli)

By team

Records

Top scorers

RankPlayerGoalsAppsPositionFirst goalLast goalRef.
1 Shokhan Salihi4921Forward2022–232023–24
2 Ibtissam Jraïdi3420Forward2022–232023–24
3 Hessa Al-Isa1514Forward2022–232022–23
Noha Tarek15Forward2022–232022–23
5 Maysa Jbarah1421Forward2022–232023–24
6 Daliah Abu Laban1121Forward2022–232023–24
Elizabeth Addo11Forward2022–232023–24
8 Seba Tawfiq919Midfielder2022–232023–24
Zainab Al-Lami9Midfielder2022–232022–23

Former top league champions

The list of champions and runners-up:

YearChampionsRunners-up
2020–21Challenge SCJeddah Eagles LFC
2021–22Al-NassrAl-Hilal

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Diamond . Drew . 2020-02-29 . Saudi Arabia form Women's Football League . 2023-10-18 . Her Football Hub . en-GB.
  2. News: Saudi female athletes challenge Muslim norms . espn . Barbara Surk . 17 February 2012 . 7 October 2021 . 7 October 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211007161242/http://www.espn.com/espn/wire?section=oly&id=7584879 . live .
  3. News: Jeddah Eagles flying high with women's football win . Arab News . 9 December 2019 . 7 October 2021 . 7 October 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211007161243/https://www.arabnews.com/node/1596096/saudi-arabia . live .
  4. Web site: Naidu . Dr Unnati . 2022-01-03 . Saudi Arabia: First women's football league from fan's perspective . 2023-10-18 . Her Football Hub . en-GB.
  5. News: Saudi Arabia launches a soccer league for women . CNN . Ivana Kottasová & Chandler Thornton . 27 February 2020 . 7 October 2021 . 7 October 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211007161245/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/25/football/saudi-arabia-football-league-women-rights-intl/index.html . live .
  6. News: الدوري السعودي النسائي . saudileague.com . Muhammad Aamer . 23 November 2020 . 7 October 2021 . 7 October 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211007161244/https://saudileague.com/news/women-football-league . live .
  7. News: Challenge Team First Winner Of The Saudi WFL . sportsforall.com . 18 December 2020 . 7 October 2021 . 7 October 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211007161244/https://sportsforall.com.sa/challenge-team-announced-as-the-first-ever-winner-of-the-saudi-community-level-womens-football-league-finals . live .
  8. Web site: 2023-10-13 . DAZN further invests in women's football with deal to broadcast Saudi Women's Premier League DAZN News US . 2023-12-13 . DAZN . en-US.
  9. Web site: حضور إنفانتينو يؤكد استمرار دعم الكرة النسائية السعودية. ar. Infantino's presence confirms the continued support for Saudi women's football.. 15 December 2023. kooora.com. Riyan Al-Jidani. 20 April 2024.
  10. Web site: لاعبة برشلونة تشهد قمة الدوري السعودي للسيدات. ar. Barcelona player witnesses the summit of the Saudi Women's League.. 23 December 2023. kooora.com. Riyan Al-Jidani. 24 April 2024.
  11. Web site: الدوري السعودي للسيدات يدخل مرحلة جديدة في البث التلفزيوني. ar. The Saudi Women's League enters a new phase in television broadcasting.. 22 May 2024. kooora.com. Riyan Al-Jidani. 23 May 2024.
  12. Web site: كرة القدم النسائية في السعودية تواصل الازدهار. ar. The Women's football in Saudi Arabia continues to flourish.. 31 May 2024. kooora.com. Riyan Al-Jidani. 31 May 2024.