RIYADH: As the Kingdom accelerates in a wide range of sectors, the drive to elevate the sports industry constitutes a major part of its overall national development strategies.

From a traditional society to making headlines on the international stage, Saudi Arabia has become one of the best known countries in football recently, becoming a global hub and attracting millions of sports fans to its league.

Major changes are taking place in the country, especially after the announcement last year that Saudi Arabia is to host the FIFA World Cup 2034. Ever since, officials have been dedicated to developing knowledge on football through collaborations with significant football experts, as well as improving local talent, along with building an infrastructure suitable for Saudi ambitions.

“2022 witnessed a major transformation in Saudi football, particularly in the Roshn League, through the recruitment of star players,” Ahmed Albahrani, director of the department of grassroots, academies and regional training center at the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, told Arab News.

“This was undoubtedly part of a specific vision and strategy to develop football in general within Saudi Arabia. This approach involved bringing in star players, hiring coaches, and investing in infrastructure — all contributing factors to this development.

“These are things we are fortunate to have as Saudis, especially in this generation, because we are witnessing qualitative leaps in the development of Saudi football,” he said.

“We in the Saudi Football Federation have begun to see some of its signs, but its (major) signs will be in 2034, especially when we host the World Cup, and our national team will have an honourable level and achieve the leadership’s aspirations.”

In the past, football in the kingdom was exclusive to male talent. Women were excluded from entering stadiums or attending sport events.

Luckily, with the fundamental transformation the country has been going through in recent years, this understanding of women’s contribution in sports vanished.

Progress has been made since 2015, with Saudi women participating internationally as a result of the creation of several sports federations. Saudi women are not only allowed to participate in sports but are encouraged to do so by the Saudi government, and Saudi female national teams have been established, thriving locally and internationally ever since.

In an interview with French female football agent and the founder of HEESSO Sports, Sonia Souid, she shared her excitement, optimistic, and supportive perspectives for women in Saudi sports.

“In 2020, when I first read the news that the Saudi league in football for women had been created, I was shocked. I was amazed because I am from Algeria, and as a Muslim woman, I feel proud of the country, especially coming from the outside, one of the last countries in the Middle East that I thought would be interested in women’s football was Saudi Arabia,” she said.

“It is actually the first one,” she said, as she further explained the investment the Kingdom is putting into women's football when compared with other countries in the region.

“Also, what I have been amazed by from Saudi people, they understood that they had to bring the knowledge from outside in terms of staff, medical staff, and everything around women’s football, and give the opportunities to women and to have a bright future in football and not only in the men’s side,” she said.

Furthermore, to celebrate the importance of football, the World Football Summit was organised in the Saudi capital from Dec. 10-11, bringing together experts, officials in the sports industry and sports enthusiasts to discuss major shifts and opportunities to elevate the Saudi Pro League.

During a panel discussion on leveraging the arrival of elite international players and coaches to accelerate local development, Simon Colosimo, CEO of FPA Saudi Arabia, shared his views on Saudi Arabia’s ambitious strategies for the future of football.

Referring to the Saudi Pro League’s future plans, he said: “They have a strategy to compete with the Italian Serie A, the Premier League ... their objective is to be there.

“When you talk about international players coming into the league, they are only going to improve the players’ capacity to compete at international level.”