Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — Al-Jowharah Stadium will host women›s basketball matches on Saturday in support of the breast cancer awareness campaign.

Shoura Council member and co-founder of Jeddah United Women Basketball Team Lina Almaeena said the game was an initiative by the Ministry of Health and the General Authority for Sports to support the cause of breast cancer.

«All the money raised from ticket sales will go to health clinics to purchase equipment for early detection of breast cancer. The money will also fund a breast cancer awareness campaign among women under 40 years of age in the Kingdom who are becoming increasingly vulnerable,» said Almaeena.

She said the event would start with an opening game followed by a tournament.

«The subsequent games will be part of the Mazda Cup Tournament for College Girls. Several teams representing a number of public and private universities in Jeddah will take part. In the forefront are teams from Dar Al-Hekma, the UBT, The Briefs and others,» said Almaeena.

She said different sectors participated in the organization of the sporting event. «The sports sector along with the health sector, volunteering sector and the charitable sector have all participated in organizing the event, which promotes a healthy and active lifestyle and investing in the energy of the youth in something that benefits them,» said Almaeena.

She said only women and children would be allowed into the stadium because «this is a social event organized by women for women to give them the chance to cheer their favorite teams».

«Men with their families can watch when men and boys play. Here women are playing, and the attendance will be restricted to women and children,» said Almaeena.

Dr. Manal Shams, a family and social health consultant with awareness department of Jeddah Health Affairs, came up with the idea of holding the all-women basketball event. She said tickets would be sold at SR100.

«However, there will be discount options of up to 50 percent. People can buy the tickets from Lammt.com and Puma Stores. We are expecting more than 10,000 women to attend. The game will be held at the indoor stadium of Al-Jowhara Sports City,» said Shams.

She said the gates of the stadium would open at 11:00 a.m. but the games will start at 1:00 p.m.

«Five teams will be competing on the day and between each game we will have some small activities to encourage women to make exercise an essential part of their lives. All of the hospitals in Jeddah will have booths at the stadium to showcase their services,» said Shams.