RIYADH — The Sports for All Federation (SFA) is celebrating some of the incredible accomplishments of the country's female athletes who have competed on both local and international stages. Annually on March 8, the world comes together to celebrate the accomplishments of women, and what a year it has been for female athletes in Saudi Arabia! Last month, the SFA launched the Women's Football League (WFL), a nationwide community-level league that is open for females aged 17 and above, under the banner of the Quality of Life Program. Registration is currently open for females from across the Kingdom to join as players, coaches and referees. The WFL, fully funded by the SFA with the goal of enabling and encouraging women to participate in more physical activity, is a league for women by women. The historic launch of this league is preceded by the success of the Saudi Greens soccer team last year. In the fall of 2019, the Saudi Greens soccer team finished second in the Global Goals World Cup, a tournament hosed alongside the United National General Assembly for amateur athletes to help realize the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Women from across Saudi joined together to form the Greens team and compete for UN SDG No. 15: Life on Land. The Saudi Greens team initially participated in the Global Goals World Cup in Denmark in May of 2019, where their impressive performance qualified them for the New York tournament. The Global Goals World Cup marks the first time a female Saudi community sports team competed in an international tournament. "As the SFA recognizes the accomplishments and new opportunities in sports for women in Saudi Arabia, we look forward to the future. We are working toward further realizing Vision 2030's goal of female empowerment, of which a key component is encouraging and enabling youth." Under the umbrella of the Women's Football league, the SFA will be launching additional events to target girls aged 16 and under.
