Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The training camp for the first Saudi women’s national futsal football team inaugurated here on Wednesday.

The eight-day camp is part of the first phase of the preparatory practice session before participating in the third Gulf Games in Kuwait in May, and the third West Asian Futsal Championship for women to be held in Jeddah in June.

The preparatory camp will include technical and physical training sessions with the aim of enhancing the fitness and technical level of the players, under the supervision of the Croatian Technical Director Mato Stankovic, while the second phase of the training program will be held in Jeddah from April 16 to 25.

Alia Al-Rasheed, general supervisor of the women’s national teams, said that this camp comes within the framework of a program drawn up by the technical staff. “Our goal now is for the national team to be fully prepared to participate in the Gulf Games in Kuwait, and the most important event for us is participation in the West Asian Championship, which will be a main nucleus for our participation in the Asian Cup qualifiers and upcoming sports participations,” she said.

The Gulf Games in Kuwait had been postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the multi-sport event now scheduled for May 11 to 21. The third edition of the Games had been set to begin on January 9 and conclude on January 19, but this has been pushed back by a further four months.

The inaugural edition of the Gulf Games was held in Manama in 2011, with the event intended to be staged every four years. However, it has not taken place since 2015, when Dammam in Saudi Arabia hosted. Kuwait’s edition of the Gulf Games was originally scheduled for April 2020, but attempts to hold the event have been hampered by the pandemic.