RIYADH: The Saudi Arabian under-20 women’s national team makes its competitive tournament debut against Palestine on Thursday night at the West Asian Football Federation U20 Women’s Championship in Jordan.
The championship will feature women’s national U20 sides from Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Head coach Pauline Hamill’s side will play their opening match in Aqaba, before facing the remaining sides to determine the winners of the tournament.
After a camp in Jeddah in October, the upcoming tournament concludes the U20 side’s first year since the formation of the team as part of the Women’s National Team program in December 2023.
As the first competitive tournament appearance for Hamill’s squad, the U20 WAFF Women’s Championship will provide a platform to prepare for the upcoming qualification matches for the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup in 2026.
Aalia Al Rasheed, head of women’s football at the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, said: “We believe in the abilities of our players, and this tournament is an opportunity to build competitive experience for the players and develop their football capabilities.
“It’s incredible to look at the growth of this team since the formation of the squad in December 2023, we look forward to seeing our under-20 side performing in their tournament debut and representing our nation with honor in a fitting conclusion to their first year.”
The latest tournament for the Saudi Women’s National Team programme highlights the rapid growth of women’s football in the Kingdom since the official introduction of the national team in 2021 and the first professional football league in 2022, with more than 70,000 girls also participating in the national schools’ league.
