Saudi Arabia to launch women's football league

Saudi Arabia will launch a national female football league in March, just two years since a ban on women attending football stadiums was lifted.

The government-funded league was announced on Monday, in the latest move from the ultra-conservative kingdom to lessen the restrictions on women. Over a year since women were allowed to drive in the country, and a few months since women were given the right to travel unaccompanied, the new football league is a step in the right direction for a country where over 73 per cent of women were found to be inactive in a 2015 report.

The league, organised by the Saudi Sports for All Federation (SFA) will take place at a regional level, before winners from each city compete for the WFL Champions Cup. The SFA confirmed the competition will include a prize fund of around £100,000. Saudi Arabia has never competed at a women's World Cup, and the Saudi Sports for All Federation [SFA], organisers of the new league, hoped this would improve participation.

"The launch of the [league] bolsters women's participation in sports at the community level and will generate increased recognition for women's sports achievements," the government-run SFA said.

But with women's rights organisers still facing persecution and arrest in the country, campaigners say there is much more to be done.

Women still largely lack autonomy, requiring permission from male family members for things like opening a business or even getting a divorce. Saudi Arabia only allowed female representation at an Olympics after pressure from the International Olympic Committee in 2012, and many girls still do not have access to physical education.