“I have been struggling for over 50 years, even in Germany. Girls were not allowed to play when I started when I was 11 years old. We had to fight for our rights and admission to championships, to play in a league and all that. So it’s a little of deja vu, where I feel that I can contribute because of my experience, to help and support them, and to build women’s football here in Saudi Arabia in a professional, structured way.”

–Monica Staab, first coach of the Saudi women’s national team.  Last month, Staab visited 28 women’s football clubs in Riyadh, Jeddah and Damman and was impressed to learn that each had between 20 and 40 players. Trials held for the national team drew 700 hopefuls, 30 will make the team. [The National]