Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — A women-only cricket match was organized in Jeddah to mark the International Women’s Day, which is held on March 8 every year.

Women players from eight countries participated in the match held at the Kingdom Sports Complex, Jeddah, on Friday. Jeddah Strikers emerged champions in the match, beating Makkah Thunders.

The players included citizens of eight countries, namely Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Philippines, Indonesia, Sudan and Egypt. Abeer Medical Group, one of the premier health-care providers in the Gulf, organized the event as part of its 20th year celebrations.

Khlood Bayazeed, senior HR Manager of Abeer Group, who was part of the winning team, said that she was delighted to be part of the history making event, especially the strong message of women empowerment that such an initiative delivers on the eve of the International Women’s Day.

Veteran journalist Khaled Almaeena, the chief guest of the event, said that this was a giant step in the sporting history of Saudi Arabia. He encouraged the players to devote time to professional cricket and assured that the feat would be showcased to the General Sports Authority and Ministry of Entertainment.

It was a new experience for the players and spectators alike. The 10-over match was played in compliance with international regulations concerning the game and was officiated by professional umpires.

Angelene, native of South Africa, and an ardent cricket fan was the captain of one of the teams. She recalled her earlier days in her homeland where she was more active in sports. She hadn’t had much exposure to play her favorite sport since she started working in the Kingdom. For the players from countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Philippines, it was a chance to become part of the history of the sport in KSA. They had practice sessions in their respective work places, trained by their colleagues who were from cricket playing countries. “We were taught the rules of the game, watched many cricket matches on TV and tried practice sessions for the last two months in the build up for the game,” commented Joy and Maha Halwani.

Alungal Mohammed, president of Abeer Medical Group, congratulated all the players on their achievement and praised the Saudi government, under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman. “Something like this would not have been thought to be possible couple of years ago. With the encouragement from the government and the vision of the ministries, this is an example that the country is progressing fast on the track to achieving its Vision 2030 goals,” he said.

Senior officials from the Jeddah Cricket Association, including president Aijaz Khan and executive secretary Haroon Mahfouz, also attended the event. “We have been successfully organizing tournaments in Jeddah for over two decades and throughout, we had been dreaming of this moment for a long time. We are glad that Abeer Medical Group took this initiative to raise awareness for women empowerment & gender equality.”

The event was planned and organized by Abeer Medical Group’s Corporate affairs & Marketing team, with the motto of investing in women’s participation in sport so as to enable their all-round development.