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Saudi Women's Premier League

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Saudi Women's Premier League
Organising bodySaudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF)
Founded2022; 2 years ago (2022)
CountrySaudi Arabia
ConfederationAFC
Number of teams10
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toSaudi Women's First Division League
Domestic cup(s)SAFF Women's Cup
International cup(s)AFC Women's Champions League
Current championsAl-Nassr (2nd title)
(2023–24)
Most championshipsAl-Nassr (2 titles)
TV partnersSSC
Shahid (online streaming)
DAZN (outside MENA) Grass Valley
Websitesaff.com.sa
Current: 2024–25 Saudi Women's Premier League

The Saudi Women's Premier League (Arabic: الدوري السعودي الممتاز للسيدات) is the top flight of women's association football in Saudi Arabia.[1]

History

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Logo of the league until 2022

The first Saudi women's club were King's United based in Jeddah,[2] and Eastern Flames in Dhahran. Both were formed in 2006. Other women's teams were formed after in Riyadh and Dammam. In 2008, the first Saudi women's tournament was held with the participation of seven teams. In December 2019, the Jeddah Women's Football League was held, which was the first women's competition organized by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation; it was won by Jeddah Eagles.[3]

In February 2020, Saudi Arabia decided to launch a football league[4] for women throughout the country.[5] On 17 November 2020, the national league was launched with 24 teams; it was divided into three regions, Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam which represent the Women's Community Football League, and the four best teams qualified to the WFL Champions Cup.[6] Challenge Sports Club won the first edition.[7]

In October 2023, the Saudi Women's Premier League partnered with DAZN, giving them rights to stream the league's matches worldwide.[8] This move reflects the league's major advancements in recent years.

On 14 December 2023, the match between Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad witnessed the presence of FIFA President Gianni Infantino at Prince Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in Jeddah.[9]

On 23 December 2023, the match between Al-Ittihad and Al Nassr witnessed the presence of The Best FIFA Women's Player 2021 and 2022, Spain's Alexia Putellas, at Prince Faisal Bin Fahad stadium (Al-Ittihad Club Stadium) in Jeddah.[10]

In May 2024, Grass Valley announced a cooperation agreement with Saudi Pro League to distribute the 2024–25 Saudi Women's Premier League matches through its digital platform.[11]

On 31 May 2024, the Saudi Football Federation renewed the exclusive partnership agreement with Saudi National Bank for a period of 3 years to sponsor the Saudi Women's Premier League and also the SAFF Women's Cup.[12]

Current teams

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The following ten teams are competing in the 2024–25 season.

Team Location Ground Capacity 2023-24 Season
Al-Ahli Jeddah Al-Ahli Club Stadium 14,000 2nd
Al-Amal Taif King Fahd Sports City 20,000 D1, 3rd
Al-Hilal Riyadh Inaya Medical Colleges Stadium 10,000 5th
Al-Ittihad Jeddah Al-Ittihad Club Stadium 15,000 6th
Al-Nassr Riyadh Al-Awwal Park 25,000 1st
Al-Qadsiah Khobar Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium 15,000 4th
Al-Shabab Riyadh Al-Shabab Club Stadium 15,000 3rd
Al-Taraji Qatif Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Stadium 12,000 D1, 2nd
Al-Ula Medina Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Sports City 20,000 D1, 1st
Eastern Flames Dammam Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium 26,000 7th

Champions

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By season

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Season Winners Runners-up Third place Top goalscorer Goals
2022–23 Al Nassr Al Hilal Al-Shabab Iraq Shokhan Salihi (Al Hilal) 43
2023–24 Al Nassr Al-Ahli Al-Shabab Morocco Ibtissam Jraïdi (Al-Ahli)
17
2024–25

By team

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Club Winners Years won
Al-Nassr 2 2022–23, 2023–24

Records

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All-time table

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Season: 2022-23 and 2024-25

Update: 20 October 2024

Rank Club P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Al Nassr 31 26 3 2 117 34 +83 81
2 Al Hilal 31 18 5 8 123 48 +75 59
3 Al-Shabab 31 17 6 8 95 48 +47 57
4 Al-Ahli 31 16 4 11 92 55 +37 52
5 Al-Ittihad 31 13 8 10 87 45 +42 47
7 Al Qadsiah 17 6 6 5 15 13 +2 24
8 Al Yamamah 14 6 3 5 40 15 +25 21
6 Eastern Flames 31 4 4 23 46 93 −47 16
9 Al-Ula 3 1 0 2 6 6 0 3
10 Al-Riyadh 14 0 1 13 8 79 −71 1
11 Al-Amal 3 0 0 3 3 9 -6 0
12 Al-Taraji 3 0 0 3 3 18 -15 0
13 Sama 14 0 0 14 1 173 −172 0

Top scorers

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Season: 2022-23 and 2024-25

Update: 20 October 2024

Rank Player Goals
1 Iraq Shokhan Salihi 54
2 Morocco Ibtissam Jraïdi 38
3

Algeria Lina Boussaha

17
4

Bahrain Hessa Al-Isa

15
5 Egypt Noha Tarek 15
6 Jordan Maysa Jbarah 14
7 Venezuela Oriana Altuve 14
8 Ghana Elizabeth Addo 12
9 Tanzania Clara Luvanga 12
10 Saudi Arabia Daliah Abu Laban 11
11 Saudi Arabia Seba Tawfiq 11
12 Tunisia Samia Aouni 11

Former top league champions

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The list of champions and runners-up:

Year Champions Runners-up
Women's Community Football League
2020–21 Challenge SC Jeddah Eagles LFC
SAFF Women's National Football Championship
2021–22 Al-Nassr Al-Hilal
  • Al-Hilal (ex. Challenge SC)
  • Al-Ittihad Jeddah (ex. Jeddah Eagles LFC)
  • Al-Nassr won the 2021-22 title under the name of Al-Mamlaka Before the acquisition

References

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  1. ^ Diamond, Drew (29 February 2020). "Saudi Arabia form Women's Football League". Her Football Hub. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  2. ^ "Saudi female athletes challenge Muslim norms". espn. Barbara Surk. 17 February 2012. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Jeddah Eagles flying high with women's football win". Arab News. 9 December 2019. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  4. ^ Naidu, Dr Unnati (3 January 2022). "Saudi Arabia: First women's football league from fan's perspective". Her Football Hub. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Saudi Arabia launches a soccer league for women". CNN. Ivana Kottasová & Chandler Thornton. 27 February 2020. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  6. ^ "الدوري السعودي النسائي". saudileague.com. Muhammad Aamer. 23 November 2020. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Challenge Team First Winner Of The Saudi WFL". sportsforall.com. 18 December 2020. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  8. ^ "DAZN further invests in women's football with deal to broadcast Saudi Women's Premier League | DAZN News US". DAZN. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  9. ^ "حضور إنفانتينو يؤكد استمرار دعم الكرة النسائية السعودية" [Infantino's presence confirms the continued support for Saudi women's football.]. kooora.com (in Arabic). Riyan Al-Jidani. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  10. ^ "لاعبة برشلونة تشهد قمة الدوري السعودي للسيدات" [Barcelona player witnesses the summit of the Saudi Women's League.]. kooora.com (in Arabic). Riyan Al-Jidani. 23 December 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  11. ^ "الدوري السعودي للسيدات يدخل مرحلة جديدة في البث التلفزيوني" [The Saudi Women's League enters a new phase in television broadcasting.]. kooora.com (in Arabic). Riyan Al-Jidani. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  12. ^ "كرة القدم النسائية في السعودية تواصل الازدهار" [The Women's football in Saudi Arabia continues to flourish.]. kooora.com (in Arabic). Riyan Al-Jidani. 31 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.


See also

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