Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH – Saudi Arabia’s first-ever women’s national football team arrived in the Maldives on Thursday to officially play their first international match.

The coach of the team, Monika Staab, revealed the final list of players who will face Seychelles on Feb. 20 in the first match of the national team before they play against the Maldives on Feb. 24.

The two matches will be the first on the records of the first national women’s team, which is preparing to enter the monthly classification of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) officially.

The final list of players included: Lama Al-Anazi, Sarah Khaled, Mona AbdelRahman (goalkeeper), Atheer Khaled, Bayan Sadaqah, Hessa Al-Saadallah, Leen Muhammad, Lana Abdel-Razzaq, Ohoud Al-Amari, Tala Al-Ghamdi, Mashael Al-Harbi (defense), Asrar Al-Shaibani, Dalia Abu Laban, Fahda Al-Saad, Juri Tariq, Layan Johari, Maryam Al-Tamimi, Farah Jafri, Noura Al-Ibrahim, Raghad Mukhaizin, Sarah Hamad and Saba Tawfiq (mid-field), Al-Bandari Mubarak, Al-Bandari Muhammad, Tahani Al-Zahrani (attack)

Staab stressed that the goal of these two matches is to gain experience, saying: "Our goal is for the players to gain the necessary experience to play international matches. In addition, we seek to officially enter the FIFA classification."

About the mechanism that she followed to select the players, she said: “Since last September, we have started searching for players who can join the national team’s journey and play in its official and international competitions.”

A member of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation and Director of the Women's Football Department, Lamia bin Bahian, said: “I would like to congratulate all the players who have been selected. And I also like to thank the rest of the players who didn’t make it to the list for the work they did during the camp until last. I urge them to continue working and trying to be with the team again.”