RIYADH: The SAFF Women’s Cup 2024-25 kicks off this weekend, with 16 teams from the Saudi Women’s Premier League and First Division battling it out to lift the coveted trophy in March next year.

This is the second SAFF Women’s Cup. Last year’s inaugural competition saw Al-Ahli crowned cup-winners after beating Al Shabab 3-2 in the 2024 final at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh in March.

The Jeddah club begin their defense of the SAFF Women’s Cup with a home tie against Al-Hmmah on Saturday. Other matches to look out for in the Round of 16 this weekend include Al-Hilal hosting Abha on Friday and the back-to-back Saudi Women’s Premier League winners Al-Nassr’s trip to Al-Taraji on Saturday.

This season’s SAFF Women’s Cup final is scheduled to be played in March 2025, with the winning team earning a total prize of SR1 million ($267,000).

Aalia Al-Rasheed, head of the women’s football department at SAFF, said: “The inaugural SAFF Women’s Cup was warmly welcomed into the football calendar by clubs and fans last season, adding an extra layer of professionalism and competition to women’s football in Saudi Arabia. We have no doubt that the SAFF Women’s Cup will go from strength to strength this campaign, beginning with a Round of 16 featuring a number of fascinating fixtures this weekend.”

The full set of SAFF Women’s Cup Round of 16 fixtures this weekend is as follows:

Friday: Al-Qadsiah v Al-Amal; Al-Hilal v Abha; AlUla v Al-Riyadh; Al-Ittihad v Jeddah.

Saturday: Al-Shabab v Al-Anqaa; Al-Shoulla v Eastern Flames; Al-Ahli v Al-Hmmah, Al-Taraji v Al-Nassr.

The start of the SAFF Women’s Cup follows the successful start of the 2024-25 Saudi Women’s Premier League campaign.

The new season — featuring more than 200 players registered to play in the Kingdom’s top flight — began with a campaign called “See Us Play,” inviting football fans to celebrate women’s football across Saudi Arabia. There are almost 77,000 female players taking part in the nation’s schools league system.