RIYADH: The final tournament of Saudi Arabia’s inaugural Global Goals World Cup is set to take place in Riyadh in September, with the winners heading to the finals in Iceland a month later.

Launched in 2015, GGWCUP invites women around the world to use the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals toward a positive impact in their communities. Each year, all-female teams organize events to advocate for their chosen SDG, before competing in regional five-a-side football tournaments.

GGWCUP Saudi Arabia was initiated by the Saudi Sports for All Federation at the end of 2020. The 28 teams taking part have spent the past eight months campaigning for and educating people about their chosen SDGs. The teams will now battle it out at a three-day festival between Sept. 16 and Sept. 18 for the chance to play against other regional winners at the grand final, which will take place in Iceland in November.

Hosted by Elite Sports Center in Diriyah and sponsored by Adidas and Novo Nordisk, the event will also feature entertainment and talks from the likes of Nascimento Foundation founder Kely Nascimento, CEO of AlOula charity Dania Al-Maena, designer and founder of Abadia Fashion Shahd Al-Shehail, GGWCUP co-founder Majken Gilmartin and DJ Hatoun.

The SFA is closely affiliated with GGWCUP, with the Saudi Greens team taking second place in 2019’s grand final in New York City. It was the first time that a female sports team from the Kingdom had ever competed in the US.

In the past year, the SFA has introduced several initiatives for women, including the Women’s Football League and an online Women’s Fitness Festival. It also established the Saudi Greens football team and appointed numerous women as official SFA ambassadors.

GGWCUP Saudi Arabia also reiterates the SFA’s commitment to increasing participation in sport. Supported by the Saudi Ministry of Sport, the SFA is mandated by Vision 2030’s Quality of Life Program to increase the number of people in the Kingdom exercising at least once a week to 40 percent by 2030.