Saudi Arabia's women's football team are scheduled to play their first game on home turf.
Known as the Green Falcons, the national team will compete in two fixtures against Bhutan on September 24 and 28.
These are the third and fourth games to be played by the team, which was formed in October.
Their opening matches, against Seychelles and Maldives, resulted in two 2-0 victories.
The first game on home soil will take place at the Prince Sultan Stadium in Abha, the capital of Asir Region.
“Win, lose or draw, these home matches are a historic moment in the transformative journey that women’s football is on in Saudi Arabia,” said Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) President Yasser Al Misehal.
“As well as developing and improving on-pitch, the team’s impact is being felt by the number of women and girls throughout the country who are being inspired to play and follow football.”
Through the Kingdom's Vision 2030, the SAFF aims to encourage more participation in all levels of women's sport, where through investment, female involvement is up 150 per cent over the last four years.
According to the SAFF, 195,000 girls aged between the ages of 5 and 15 play sport on a weekly basis.
The federation said it has plans to increase interest and participation at all levels of the women’s game, with investments in areas such as grass roots, player development, coaching, facilities, competitions and governance.
Today, there are almost 450 registered female players, 49 qualified referees and more than 800 'D', 'C' and 'B' licensed coaches in the kingdom.
Last year, the country appointed its first women’s coach, Monika Staab, and, following the launch of the first regional women’s football league last year with 16 teams, an eight-team Premier League will be introduced next month.
The competition has been rebranded as the First Division Women’s League and will have 17 teams competing across three cities, taking the total number of clubs to 25 across the two divisions.
“As a team, we continue to improve while as a sport, we’re making huge progress at all levels and are proudly making history together,” Staab said.
“We look forward to these testing fixtures against Bhutan, and I am sure the whole squad will cherish this special moment forever.”
This summer, Saudi Arabia staged the West Asian Football Federation 3rd Women’s Futsal Championship in Jeddah, where the hosts finished with a silver medal.
MATCH INFO
Alaves 1 (Perez 65' pen)
Real Madrid 2 (Ramos 52', Carvajal 69')
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
