Arab nations cannot afford to ignore the rise of women’s football

The women’s game in the region cannot afford to fall behind much longer. (FILE/AFP)
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Updated 29 July 2020
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Arab nations cannot afford to ignore the rise of women’s football

  • The 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is unlikely to see any teams from West Asia
  • The desire to accelerate the progress of women’s football can be seen across grass roots level

DUBAI: On Sept. 25, 2005, a football match that few people will remember or even have heard of, took place in Amman, with hosts Jordan comfortably thrashing an overwhelmed Bahrain 9-0.

But the result mattered little. This was a football match with a difference for the beaten team; it was the first time that Bahrain’s national women’s team - established in 2003 - had taken to a football field.

Women’s football had taken its first, small step in the GCC. It was only a matter of time before Gulf nations would follow other more established football neighbors like Jordan and Egypt in developing the women’s game.

But while Bahrain and UAE have followed in those footsteps, things haven’t exactly progressed elsewhere.

Fifteen years on, a revolution is taking place in women’s football. But it’s a revolution that seems to be going under the radar in the majority of the GCC, Arab countries and the Middle East at large.

On June 25, 2020, the announcement that Australia and New Zealand will co-host the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup was warmly welcomed across the globe. More than a month on, the news has barely made any waves in the region, especially considering one of the co-hosts, Australia, is a fellow Asian Football Federation (AFC) member state.

The 2023 World Cup will also see the number of participating nations expanded from 24 to 32, in line with the men’s competition, though the extra qualifying opportunities are unlikely to vastly improve the chances of Arab nations. 

Across Asia, teams like Japan and China, as well as North Korea and South Korea, have for long been powerhouses in the women’s game, and now Vietnam, Thailand and Uzbekistan are increasingly looking to close the gap on the heavyweights of Europe and the Americas as well. For now, the West Asian region is being left further behind.

Perhaps it’s no surprise that the women’s game has not captured the imagination, or even mere attention, of the regional public. No Arab nation has ever taken part in the FIFA Women’s World Cup since its inception in 1988, and only a few ever make the AFC Asian Cup. Women’s football, for long a traditional taboo, remains a novelty even in these days of cultural progress. That remains the case beyond this region.

At the same time, any criticism for lack of the progress of the women’s game must come with acknowledgement of the socio-political environment, and hardships, that prevail in many Arab and Middle Eastern countries like Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq. In many cases, football and sports in general, for men as much as women, are fraught with political and cultural obstacles which render them of secondary concerns.

But perhaps that is as good a reason as any to ensure the current rise of women’s football does not become the latest wasted opportunity; it’s not just the sporting aspect of women’s game that female athletes would be missing out on.

In recent years, women’s football has become a driving force for equal rights in sports, and beyond, something many regional nations are striving to put right.

In particular, the 2019 World Cup in France was a revelation, a true game-changer for the women’s game at so many levels. There were record attendances and worldwide record television audiences and perhaps for the first time ever, the tournament was enjoyed without the usual, stereotypical caveats. 

Even the previous World Cup, in Canada in 2015, had seen major steps taken in the women’s game, with the US Women’s National Team (USWNT) as ever, leading the way.

American captain and star of the last year’s World Cup, Megan Rapinoe, has for one transcended the sport to become a role model for aspiring female athletes and one of football’s most vocal advocates for women’s empowerment.

Ahead of winning the 2023 bid, Australia’s women’s team, the Westfield Matildas, took on Football Federation Australia and Fifa to achieve equal pay with their male counterparts. On Nov. 6, 2019 they won their case and the next World Cup will now stand as a beacon of gender equality and non-discrimination for female footballers.

It would be unfair and unrealistic to expect such giant steps to take place across nations were women’s football remains embryonic, and nor is there is a complete lack of interest by West Asian federations in promoting the game in countries like UAE, Jordan and Bahrain, and with Saudi Arabia indicating huge leaps in the coming years too.

Jordan remains the highest women’s FIFA-ranked Arab nation at 58, and thanks to the work of former FIFA Vice President Prince Ali bin Hussein and the Jordan Football Association, the team has won several regional tournaments and competed at continental level. And in captain Stephanie Al Naber, who had a spell playing at Danish club Fortuna Hjørring 10 years ago, they have a role model that young Jordanian footballers can aspire to emulate. 

In 2018, the Women’s Asian Cup was held at Amman International Stadium and King Abdullah II Stadium in the Jordanian capital, two years after the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup had been a success. Jordan, as hosts, were the only Arab representatives in either competition.

In the UAE, a program of training for talented young Emirati girls over the last decade has raised the profile of the women’s national team, with age group selections taking part in invitational tournaments in Asia and Europe. 

Having established a women’s team in 2004, a year after Bahrain, the UAE won the West Asia Football Federation (WAFF) Women’s Championship in 2010 and 2011, albeit with a team of mostly nationalised foreign players. Last year in Bahrain, fielding a team of Emirati players, the UAE finished fourth.

The desire to accelerate the progress of women’s football can be seen across grass roots level as well.

The UAE Football Association (UAE FA) has provided significant funding for the national team programs, as well as the seven-team domestic league, with Houriya Al Taheri - coach and technical director with the UAE FA - and Omar Al Duri, formerly a coach with Ghana’s World Cup squad, exerting a positive influence on a team now ranked 97 in the world, 13 behind Bahrain at 84.

In Saudi Arabia, Saja Kamal, a footballer with a massive online following has been leading a campaign to establish a senior national team in the Kingdom, and like Naber and Al Taheri, is a role model in her own right.

Women were only allowed into Saudi football stadiums as recently as 2017, but progress has accelerated in recent times. Earlier this year, an official women’s league was launched in the Kingdom that aims to encourage participation at grassroots and community level.

The 2023 World Cup may come too soon to see an Arab team taking part in Australia and New Zealand. But it should be seen as an unmissable opportunity to learn the lessons that other nations have taken on board, and plan ahead.

Perhaps regional countries could follow suit and co-host international tournaments. That would easily be within the capabilities of the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Staging such competitions would indicate a commitment to the women’s game and to gender equality. Above all, it will bring the game closer to young female football fans.

The women’s game in the region cannot afford to fall behind much longer.


Formula E to enhance its ‘FIA Girls on Track’ initiative at all races in Season 11

Formula E's ‘FIA Girls on Track’ program will take place at all races of Season 11. (Supplied)
Updated 15 sec ago
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Formula E to enhance its ‘FIA Girls on Track’ initiative at all races in Season 11

  • The gender-diversity program, now in its 7th year, has provided career and education advice and support to more than 4,500 young women
  • The new race season begins in December and the Jeddah E-Prix, which replaces the Diriyah E-Prix, will take place at the city’s Corniche Circuit on Feb. 14-15

LONDON: Formula E has unveiled plans to expand and enhance its grassroots gender-diversity initiative, FIA Girls on Track, to give 50 young women the chance to participate in new race-day activities at each event on the 2024/25 calendar, including the Jeddah E-Prix on February 14 and 15.

A further 120 women will take part in behind-the-scenes activities the day before each race, as organizers offer exclusive access to young women interested in a career in motorsport or the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. The participants will even have a role to play on the victory podium at each race.

Formula E said it is reaffirming its commitment to education and gender inclusivity in motorsport by also extending the support it provides to grassroots initiatives, giving more young women than ever the chance to access and learn from the experiences within the all-electric competition. For example, it will provide e-karting opportunities and activities in schools and universities.

The expansion of the initiative is part of a broader, long-term strategy to advance gender equality by removing barriers, expanding opportunities and providing pathways for women to build careers in the sport, organizers said.

Most recently, in a world first within an FIA championship, Formula E organized an all-women’s test event that gave elite drivers, including Bianca Bustamante and Ella Lloyd of the NEOM McLaren race team, a unique opportunity to develop their skills in the latest version of the electric racing cars. The new GEN3 Evo is capable of 0-60 mph in 1.82 seconds, 30 percent faster than the current generation of F1 cars.

Driving for the Nissan Formula E team, Abi Pulling, who currently leads the junior-level F1 Academy championship, recorded the quickest time during the three-hour test session amid a field of 17 drivers representing the top tier of women’s driving. Bustamante managed the third-fastest time of the day in the NEOM McLaren car, with an impressive 1 minute 31.715 seconds.

Last season, Formula E expanded its Girls on Track experiences to include local girls and young women between the ages of 12 and 18, and delivered 27 events during 11 race weekends at the track and in communities.

Organizers said the initiative has supported more than 4,500 young women globally since its partnership with the FIA began. This season, they added, the program aims to reach more young women than ever, amid growing interest among them in careers in motorsport.

During each race weekend, 120 young women will take part in behind-the-scenes tours and workshops on the day before the big race. On race days, 50 young women will be granted exclusive access to the FIA Girls on Track space within the Fan Village, and have the option to attend inspirational career talks given by women working within Formula E, who will offer guidance and advice about varied career options in the sport across disciplines including engineering, technology, driving, team management, sustainability, and media and marketing.

“We’re committed to continuing to provide as much opportunity as possible to young women who want to come and work in the industry,” said Julia Palle, vice president of sustainability at Formula E.

“We’re all too aware of the imbalance between male and female roles, so with an ever-growing program of events and opportunities where women can learn and grow in confidence, the industry will begin to balance itself and benefit everyone involved.

“Our commitment to women, though, is not just at the grassroots but at the pinnacle of the sport too. In Madrid, hosting an all-women’s test session provided a crucial opportunity for them to test themselves using current technology that we hope will not only develop their own skill sets but be inspirational to many of the young women involved in our FIA Girls on Track program, too.”

After successful races in Diriyah over the past six seasons, Formula E announced this year that Jeddah will be the new race venue in the Kingdom, with the event taking place at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, the world’s fastest street track, in February.

 


Angel Yin rides a hot putter to 2-shot lead in LPGA fina

Updated 32 min 22 sec ago
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Angel Yin rides a hot putter to 2-shot lead in LPGA fina

  • Yin won $1 million last year in the Aon Risk-Reward Challenge, a bonus competition all year that measures how players fare on holes that have risk, such as a reachable par 5
  • Very clear in her rearview mirror was Nelly Korda

NAPLES, Florida: Angel Yin rammed in a 30-foot par putt on her opening hole, setting the tone for a day of big putts and 3-under 69 that gave her a two-shot lead Friday in the CME Group Tour Championship and the chase for the $4 million prize.

Very clear in her rearview mirror was Nelly Korda.

Korda, coming off her seventh win of the season last week, opened with a 72 and was eight shots behind. She found a simple swing thought after the round and was back to her old self with a 66 that cut the deficit in half with 36 holes left to play.

“Golf is just crazy,” Korda said. “You go from playing so well last week to not being able to find the center of the clubface yesterday. Always humbles you, but what’s that you love so much about it. Went to the range after my round yesterday. Tried to find a different feel. Felt a little better out there today, and hopefully I can keep progressing.”

Yin followed that 30-foot par putt with a 40-foot birdie putt on the next hole. She also holed a birdie putt from about 35 feet on the 11th hole that put her in the lead for good.

She was at 10-under 134. Hye-Jin Choi (68) and Narin An (72) were 8 under.

Korda, who already has captured her first award as player of the year, was tied for fourth at 138 with four other players who are either major champions or have been No. 1 in the women’s world ranking — Jeeno Thitikul, Ayaka Furue, Ruoning Yin and Amy Yang, the defending champion at Tiburon Golf Club.

Furue also is in a tight battle for the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average, and she pulled within a fraction of a point of Haeran Ryu.

Yin’s round had enough bogeys to slow her momentum, along with a discussion with a rules official over where she took her drop after going in the water on the par-3 fourth hole.

“It looked like I took an improper drop where I went up closer than I should have, where I should have dropped further back,” Yin said, who was asked to review footage. “They thought I didn’t take the drop properly. I explained to them that I believe I did take the drop properly.”

She said it was discussed with everyone in her group. She said a marshal never volunteered any information. The drop stood, she took bogey and was moving on.

“I believe my drop was right,” Yin said.

Korda, meanwhile, grazed the cup with birdie chances and then made it up for it on the third hole when her 8-iron from the rough landed so perfectly that it rolled into the cup for an eagle. That sent her on her way.

The key to getting her game on track was more hinge in taking the club away and taking a shorter swing. It all came together. Korda also said she finally was able to get some rest after a busy week of awards.

Yin won $1 million last year in the Aon Risk-Reward Challenge, a bonus competition all year that measures how players fare on holes that have risk, such as a reachable par 5. That $1 million meant a lot to her, and she said it gave her some financial freedom.

What would $4 million mean?

“Even bigger financial freedom,” she said.

 

 


Kane hat-trick sends Bayern eight points clear

Updated 23 November 2024
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Kane hat-trick sends Bayern eight points clear

  • Bayern, still yet to lose in the league in 2024-25, were dominant throughout but kept at bay by some dogged defending from their Bavarian neighbors
  • With 61 minutes gone, the ball connected with Augsburg’s Mads Pedersen’s outstretched arm in the box, bringing the England captain to the spot after a VAR review

MUNICH: A second-half Harry Kane hat-trick took Bayern Munich to a 3-0 home win over Augsburg on Friday, sending them eight clear atop the table ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain.
Bayern, still yet to lose in the league in 2024-25, were dominant throughout but kept at bay by some dogged defending from their Bavarian neighbors.
With 61 minutes gone, the ball connected with Augsburg’s Mads Pedersen’s outstretched arm in the box, bringing the England captain to the spot after a VAR review.
Kane cooly converted to give Bayern the lead.
In stoppage time, Kane went down in the box after contact from Keven Schlotterbeck and Bayern were again awarded a penalty after a VAR review, which the 31-year-old converted.
Schlotterbeck was sent from the field after picking up a second yellow for his challenge.
Kane then added a third, this time controlling a cross and heading in, his seventh hat-trick since joining Bayern.
The England captain now has 14 goals in 11 league games for Bayern this season, five of which have come from the spot.
Leipzig can cut the gap back to five when they play at struggling Hoffenheim on Saturday, while defending champions Bayer Leverkusen host Heidenheim.
The German giants received a boost pre-match, with captain and veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer cleared to start after missing training with a rib issue.
Bayern were in control of possession and field position but could not break through.
Augsburg offered little in attack but defended stoutly, holding Bayern’s glittering attacking riches at bay.
Augsburg goalie Nediljko Labrovic held firm to snuff out first-half chances from Jamal Musiaia and Leon Goretzka.
The Bavarian giants, still smarting after going trophyless for the first time in 11 seasons last campaign, eventually broke through with half an hour remaining, breaking Augsburg’s resolve.
Riding high in the league, Bayern have struggled in the Champions League format, sitting 17th after four games — six behind leaders Liverpool.
Tuesday’s home match with PSG, who are even further down the Champions League table, could be crucial for the German side in their top-eight bid to avoid the extra playoff round.


Conor McGregor must pay 250,000 euros to woman who says he raped her, civil jury rules

Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor arriving at court in Dublin where he was ordered to pay 250,000 Euros to a woman
Updated 23 November 2024
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Conor McGregor must pay 250,000 euros to woman who says he raped her, civil jury rules

  • Nikita Hand said the 2018 assault left her heavily bruised and suffering post-traumatic stress disorder
  • McGregor later said on the social platform X that he would appeal the verdict

LONDON: A woman who claimed mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor “brutally raped and battered” her in a Dublin hotel penthouse was awarded nearly 250,000 Euros ($257,000) on Friday by a civil court jury in Ireland.
Nikita Hand said the Dec. 9, 2018, assault after a night of partying left her heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
McGregor testified that he never forced the woman to do anything against her will and said she fabricated the allegations after the two had consensual sex. His lawyer had called Hand a gold digger.
The fighter, once the face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship but now past his prime, shook his head as the jury of eight women and four men found him liable for assault after deliberating about six hours in the High Court in Dublin.
He was mobbed by cameras as he left court but did not comment. He later said on the social platform X that he would appeal the verdict and the “modest award.”
Hand’s voice cracked and her hands trembled as she read a statement outside the courthouse, saying she would never forget what happened to her but would now be able to move on with her life. She thanked her family, partner, friends, jurors, the judge and all the supporters that had reached out to her online, but particularly her daughter.
“She has given me so much strength and courage over the last six years throughout this nightmare to keep on pushing forward for justice,” she said. “I want to show (her) and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is, and justice will be served.”
The Associated Press generally does not name alleged victims of sexual violence unless they come forward publicly, as Hand has done. Under Irish law, she did not have the anonymity she would have been granted in a criminal proceeding and was named publicly throughout the trial.
Her lawyer told jurors that McGregor was angry about a fight he had lost in Las Vegas two months earlier and took it out on his client.
“He’s not a man, he’s a coward,” attorney John Gordon said in his closing speech. “A devious coward and you should treat him for what he is.”
Gordon said his client never pretended to be a saint and was only looking to have fun when she sent McGregor a message through Instagram after attending a Christmas party. He said Hand knew McGregor socially and that they had grown up in the same area.
She said he picked her and a friend up in a car and shared cocaine with them, which McGregor admitted in court, on the way to the Beacon Hotel.
Hand said she told McGregor she didn’t want to have sex with him and that she was menstruating. She said she told him “no” as he started kissing her but he eventually pinned her to a bed and she couldn’t move.
McGregor put her in a chokehold and later told her, “now you know how I felt in the octagon where I tapped out three times,” referring to a UFC match when he had to admit defeat, she said.
Hand had to take several breaks in emotional testimony over three days. She said McGregor threatened to kill her during the encounter and she feared she would never see her young daughter again.
Eventually, he let go of her.
“I remember saying I was sorry, as I felt that I did something wrong and I wanted to reassure him that I wouldn’t tell anyone so he wouldn’t hurt me again,” she testified.
She said she then let him do what he wanted and he had sex with her.
A paramedic who examined Hand the next day testified that she had never before seen someone with that intensity of bruising. A doctor told jurors Hand had multiple injuries.
Hand said the trauma of the attack had left her unable to work as a hairdresser, she fell behind on her mortgage and had to move out of her house.
Police investigated the woman’s complaint but prosecutors declined to bring charges, saying there was insufficient evidence and a conviction was unlikely.
McGregor, in his post on X, said he was disappointed jurors didn’t see all the evidence prosecutors had reviewed.
He testified that the two had athletic and vigorous sex, but that it was not rough. He said “she never said ‘no’ or stopped” and testified that everything she said was a lie.
“It is a full blown lie among many lies,” he said when asked about the chokehold allegation. “How anyone could believe that me, as a prideful person, would highlight my shortcomings.”
McGregor’s lawyer told jurors they had to set aside their animus toward the fighter.
“You may have an active dislike of him, some of you may even loathe him – there is no point pretending that the situation might be otherwise,” attorney Remy Farrell said. “I’m not asking you to invite him to Sunday brunch.”
The defense said the woman never told investigators McGregor threatened her life. They also showed surveillance video in court that they said appeared to show the woman kiss McGregor’s arm and hug him after they left the hotel room. Farrell said she looked “happy, happy, happy.”
McGregor said he was “beyond petrified” when first questioned by police and read them a prepared statement. On the advice of his lawyer, he refused to answer more than 100 follow-up questions.
The jury ruled against Hand in a case she brought against one of McGregor’s friends, James Lawrence, whom she accused of having sex with her in the hotel without consent.


Aubameyang winner for Al-Qadsia dents Ronaldo’s title hopes

Updated 23 November 2024
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Aubameyang winner for Al-Qadsia dents Ronaldo’s title hopes

  • Portuguese opened scoring after 32 minutes for the Yellows
  • Gabonese superstar snatched the win

RIYADH: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang put a huge dent in the title hopes of Cristiano Ronaldo as Al-Qadsiah beat Al-Nassr 2-1 on Friday.

The former Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona forward scored the all-important goal as the newly promoted team moved level with the Riyadh giants on 22 points.

It was even more impressive as Ronaldo opened the scoring after 32 minutes as his side looked to move to within two points of leaders Al-Hilal.

It was not the most spectacular strike from the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. Mohamed Simakan’s right-sided free-kick was spilled by goalkeeper Koen Casteels and there was Ronaldo to fire home the loose ball to put Al-Nassr within touching distance of their local Riyadh rivals and record his seventh league goal of the season.

But Al-Qadsiah were back on level terms eight minutes before the break. Turki Al-Ammar found space down the left but there was still work to do when his cross entered the area. The ball was chested down by Julian Quinones before the Mexican international shot home.

If that shocked the hosts in Riyadh, then there was more, and worse, to come five minutes into the second half. Nahitan Nandez received the ball on the left and while his looping cross to the far post looked too deep, Quinones hooked the ball back across goal for Aubameyang to head home from the closest of ranges.

It was a massive blow for Al-Nassr who then threw everything forward in an attempt to get something from the game to keep the pressure on the top two.

But it was not to be and Al-Hilal will go nine points clear of their local rivals if they defeat Al-Khaleej on Saturday.

Earlier on Friday, Al-Ahli triumphed for a second successive game in the league to make it three in all competitions, winning 1-0 at Al-Fayha. A 21st-minute penalty was converted by former Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez to give the inconsistent team from Jeddah a vital three points that take them into sixth place. Elsewhere, Al-Shabab drew 1-1 at Al-Okhdood to stay fourth.

Al-Hilal can build a four-point lead at the top of the league on Saturday but Al-Ittihad, just a point behind, are in action on Sunday as they take on Al-Fateh.