Saudi Women's Premier League Explained

Saudi Women's Premier League
Organiser:Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF)
Country:Saudi Arabia
Confed:AFC
Teams:10
Relegation:Saudi Women's First Division League
Levels:1
Domest Cup:SAFF Women's Cup
Saudi Women's Super 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

The Saudi Women's Premier League (ar|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 Stadium) 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

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
14,000
20,000
Inaya Medical Colleges Stadium10,000
15,000
25,000
15,000
15,000
12,000
Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Sports City 20,000
26,000

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

All-time table

Season: 2022-23 and 2024-25

Update: 23 November 2024

RankClubPWDLGFGAGDPts
134293212939+9090
234196912752+7563
334196910653+5363
4Al-Ahli341941110256+4661
5Al-Ittihad34148128950+3950
6Al-Qadsiah208752716+1131
7Al-Yamamah146354015+2521
8Eastern Flames34542549104−5519
9Al-Amal61051017-73
10Al-Ula6105815-73
11Al-Riyadh140113879−711
12Al-Taraji6006431-270
13Sama1400141173−1720

Top scorers

Season: 2022-23 and 2024-25

Update: 23 November 2024

Rank PlayerGoals
1 Shokhan Salihi55
2 Ibtissam Jraïdi42
3 Lina Boussaha22
4 Naomie Kabakaba20
5 Hessa Al-Isa15
6 Noha Tarek15
7 Mavis Owusu15
8 Maysa Jbarah14
9 Oriana Altuve14
10 Clara Luvanga13
11 Elizabeth Addo12
12 Daliah Abu Laban12
13 Ajara Nchout12
14 Seba Tawfiq11
15 Samia Aouni11

Former top league champions

The list of champions and runners-up:

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

See also

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.