January 12, 2018 was a significant milestone in the growth of football in Saudi Arabia; on that date women were \u2013 for the first time \u2013 permitted to attend domestic league matches in person, heralding the relaxation of decades of religious conservatism in the kingdom.
\nFor a nation that has long been at the forefront of the men\u2019s game, winning AFC Asian Cup titles in 1984, 1988 and 1996 and representing the continent at the FIFA World Cup on six occasions since 1994, Saudi Arabia\u2019s status among Asia\u2019s elite has never been in doubt.<\/p>\n
But while Japan, Korea Republic, Australia and DPR Korea have had a significant presence within the women\u2019s game in addition to multiple FIFA World Cup appearances, cultural restrictions have prevented Saudi Arabia from matching Asia\u2019s other high achievers.<\/p>\n
That, though, is in the process of changing as Saudi Arabia pours considerable resources into playing catch-up in the women\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
In 2021, three years after those restrictions were lifted, the Saudi Arabia Football Federation (SAFF) launched the country\u2019s first women\u2019s national team.<\/p>\n
A further two years later Spain\u2019s highly decorated and globally respected Lluis Cortes was hired on a long-term deal to lead the climb up the FIFA rankings towards qualification for the game\u2019s top tournaments.<\/p>\n
Cortes\u2019 arrival was a coup as the Saudis look to build on the groundwork laid by former Bahrain and Qatar coach Monika Staab following her ascent into the role of technical director after a two-year spell as the inaugural national team boss.<\/p>\n
It was a move that, in its own way, signaled Saudi Arabia\u2019s intent as significantly as any embarked upon by the nation in recent times.<\/p>\n
The 36-year-old is no stranger to success throughout his career having led Barcelona to a continental treble by winning the Primera Division, Copa de la Reina, and UEFA Women\u2019s Champions League in 2021, a feat that saw him named UEFA Women\u2019s Coach of the Year.<\/p>\n
After a stint managing Ukraine\u2019s women\u2019s national team, he arrived in Riyadh in December with the task of lifting Saudi Arabia \u2013 who did not have a FIFA ranking until March last year \u2013 into the game\u2019s upper echelons.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I received the call from SAFF and I started watching some videos and collecting information from the team and the girls, my expectations were low,\u201d Cortes says of his initial impressions of Saudi Arabia\u2019s fledgling national team programme. \u201cWhat I had seen from other matches from previous years from the team wasn\u2019t good. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd coming from Barca and top level teams, of course the level is very different. But once here, once we started to work with the girls I saw something very different. The level was higher than I expected. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was the best thing for me was they were eager to learn. They were asking about everything. They really want to be better players. After explaining to them some things, they were trying to do and they were improving every day. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is amazing how quickly they learn. Most of the players are young, the average age is 23, 24 years, not more. They can improve a lot in the coming years.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the starting level may have been low, progress has been rapid with the players quickly taking on Cortes\u2019 ideas to implement a possession-based style that ran contrary to their defensive instincts.<\/p>\n
The switch has already seen positive results, with Saudi Arabia picking up back-to-back wins over Syria in January before a trio of encouraging performances during February\u2019s hosting of the WAFF Women\u2019s Championship, the first senior women\u2019s international tournament played on Saudi soil.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first idea was to try to convince these players there was another way to play football,\u201d says Cortes. \u201cBefore they were playing by just defending, playing long balls. They are very young but some of them only started playing 11-a-side just two or three years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
While it is still early days, the work done by the federation both prior to Cortes\u2019 arrival and since the Spaniard landed in Saudi Arabia is significant.<\/p>\n
The women\u2019s football department at SAFF was established in September 2019, with the national team programme launched two years later. By the end of 2023, the number of registered female players almost tripled, from 374 to more than 940.<\/p>\n
Under the gaze of technical director Staab, infrastructure is being put in place to give women the opportunity to train in professional environments while the number of coaches in the female game has increased from 11 to well over a thousand.<\/p>\n
Four women\u2019s regional training centres have already been opened, with plans for more, while at youth level there are moves to add further age group teams to the under 23 side that played their first game in December.<\/p>\n
\u201cSAFF and the country are investing a lot in women\u2019s sport and women\u2019s football,\u201d says Cortes. \u201cThey started two years ago with the national team but now our conditions as a team are the same as the men\u2019s team: the hotel, how we travel, the facilities, the materials.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a staff of 28 people. When I was in Barca we were 17 or 18. We have very professional staff. All the investment in women\u2019s football is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cortes is part of the federation\u2019s long-term plan, with the Spaniard given a contract until 2027.<\/p>\n
That expiry date is not without significance as it coincides with the next edition of the FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup, but Cortes cautions against expectations that his team will have a realistic chance of appearing at the Finals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal remains to qualify and play in a major tournament, but I cannot say it if will be in two years or five years or 10 years,\u201d he says. \u201cBut we have to be ready for our opportunity. It\u2019s a long journey and we\u2019re only in the beginning. We just started this journey. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are playing against women\u2019s teams that started playing maybe 30 or 40 years ago and we started as a national team two years ago. We\u2019re like a baby, so we need to give this baby the right tools to learn to walk, then learn to run and then to learn to sprint and go step-by-step. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re at the beginning, it\u2019s true, but we have the tools and the support from SAFF and the country to try to help the system and go a little bit faster than normal. <\/p>\n
\u201cTo play at the World Cup in 2027, we have to be realistic it\u2019s not a goal. If we can be there then I will jump and dance for five hours! I think it\u2019s not a goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, Cortes views featuring in the preliminaries for the next edition of the AFC Women\u2019s Asian Cup\u2122 in 2026 \u2013 which double up as the continent\u2019s qualifiers for the FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup \u2013 as a realistic next step for his squad.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes you need to play against big teams, against strong teams, against top teams to see what is your level and to see where the real level is,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd maybe we won\u2019t qualify. But it will be very useful for us to see where is the level. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you play against Thailand and you lose 6-0 you will think: what do I have to do to be like Thailand, because I want to be like that team, to win 6-0 and not lose 6-0. So I want to play the qualifiers, that can be a goal that is realistic. <\/p>\n
\u201cTo qualify for the Asian Cup is also difficult. Not many teams are there in the final stage, but we can try.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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