RIYADH: The Royal Danish Embassy in Riyadh recently celebrated the Global Goals World Cup (GGWCUP) initiative, a women football tournament taking place for the first time in Riyadh this year.
Twenty-eight teams from all over Saudi Arabia came to play this weekend at the tournament.
The Saudi sports minister and Sports for All Federation are the co-sponsors and organizers, along with Majken Gilmarti, the Danish co-founder and CEO at the GGWCUP.
The main goal of the tournament is to encourage women across the country to participate in sports and boost health.
Described as the social good world cup, the tournament is asking each team to apply one of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Danish Ambassador Ole E. Moesby hosted the lunch gathering at the Embassy to discuss climate action, SDG 13, among guests and representatives from the UN and the GGWCUP.
Goal 13 was chosen by the Embassy’s female team called Green Tornado, who have been working on their green initiative over the previous months around Riyadh.
Moesby highlighted Green Tornado’s hard work throughout the previous six months to achieve their goals.
“They have planted flowers and trees, they have collected garbage, and they have set an example of what you can get out of it and also being part of a team that's called Green Tornado,” Moesby told Arab News.
Gilmarti told Arab News that hosting the event for the first time in Saudi Arabia was magical: “Seeing and getting to work with the Sport for All Federation and their team is amazing. They are pro in how they are doing it, and they are open-minded to the whole approach.”
She added: “We create communities where everybody thrives and have a great life.”
Gilmarti said that the winning team in this year’s tournament will be playing in their annual global finals in Iceland.
“We play in November as part of the global forum, the women political leaders forum. So, we invite women, political leaders to get to know about the teams.”
Lamia Bahian, a board member of the Women’s Football Federation, told Arab News that her focus is developing women’s football in Saudi Arabia starting from ground zero, building a community that can support the sport.
“Now we have our regional training center, which is going to be activated. And two weeks from now, leagues will start very soon.” She said.
Bahian said it was “great to be part of that event and see it happening in your own eyes and on-ground, that’s a feeling that I don't think I can describe.”
