JEDDAH: The Saudi Football Federation (SFF) announced this week that it had approved the first batch of Saudi female referees as part of its efforts to develop women’s participation in the game in the Kingdom.
The SFF Referees Committee, in cooperation with the Women’s Football Development Department, approved 63 female referees to work under the federation’s umbrella. The referees attended two training programs in 2020, in Dammam in September, and in Riyadh in October, where they met with female referees from Jordan and Lebanon, who shared their experiences with the young trainees.
“It was a very enriching and encouraging experience, and gave us huge motivation and confidence in our abilities,” Lulwah Al-Dosari, one of the approved referees, told Arab News. “It is totally different when you meet someone who has already achieved something big. They told us how they had once been like us.