Saudi Gazette Report

RIYADH — The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) on Thursday has officially announced Monika Staab as the first Saudi women’s National Football Team coach.

Staab, football trainer and “German Football Ambassador 2014” award winner, is ranked on the list of most popular Association Football Player. She is also ranked in the list of famous celebrity born in Germany.

The German coach has more than 25 years of experience as a player and coach, in addition to her work as a lecturer for the International Football Association (FIFA), the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the German Football Association.

Commenting on Staab’s appointment, Lamia Bin Bahian, member of the Board of Directors of the SAFF and Director of the Women's Football Department, said that women's football in Saudi Arabia has taken an interesting journey towards its development, as we all share the passion to advance it within an ambitious strategy through which we aim to deliver women's football to its highest levels.

Lamia added that the support of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, and the Ministry of Sports' interest in women's football under the leadership of Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal played a key role in building and developing women's football.

Their support resulted in the establishment of a department to supervise women’s football in the Saudi Arabian Football Federation in September 2019, she said.

Women's football became a pillar of the Saudi football transformation strategy as the SAFF in September 2021 under the leadership of the Federation’s president, Yasser Al-Mishal announced to launch the first women's football league in the country during the upcoming months to form the first women's national team.

On her side, Staab expressed her happiness to join the team and for being an integral part of the development of women's football in the Kingdom.

Staab proudly said: "I consider this opportunity one of the most enthusiastic opportunities in the sports world, and it is an honor to lead the first national team."

Staab said that the Saudis enjoy great passion for football. She added that she found a huge energy and talents here, as young people under the age of 25 take a large place of the Kingdom's population, which would help to find the opportunity to explore for talented players.

In light of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, women's sports witnessed a huge increase in participation rate, reaching 149 percent over the past four years. More than 195,000 girls between the ages of 5-15 years are exercising weekly and this has increased Staab's enthusiasm to train the girls in the coming period.

The Saudi Football Federation by 2025 seeks to constitute a national team that is capable of competing in football tournaments in stadiums.

The SAFF has received the first batch of the first regional training center for girls under the age of 17, 15 and 13 this month, which aims to develop football programs. The SAFF seeks to open 9 new centers around the Kingdom.