Star players before change
Saudi excess reaches the Women’s World Cup
8/6/2023 8:32 am
Saudi Arabia is serious about football: among men, a star now moves to the desert almost every day. And now the gigantic offensive on the women should reach. The German national coach of Saudi Arabia hears corresponding rumors.
The German coach Monika Staab, who works in Saudi Arabia, firmly believes that prominent footballers will also move to the desert state in the future – even from Germany. Saudi Arabian clubs have been causing a stir for a long time with transfers of well-known professionals such as Cristiano Ronaldo or, most recently, Sadio Mané. Almost every day in the past few weeks, players with well-known names have moved to the desert. The clubs not only wanted to be champions for men, but also for women, said Staab in the Deutschlandfunk “Players” podcast. The 64-year-old has been building a women’s selection team in Saudi Arabia since 2021.
“I don’t want to reveal too much, but there are rumors that about four or five world-class players who are also taking part in the World Cup are going to Saudi Arabia,” said Staab. She explained that there are several men’s clubs that have also taken up women’s football and are investing in European coaches to raise the quality. “I think we’ll see one or the other – including German – players who might be of retirement age, going to Saudi Arabia to play football there,” said Staab.
Saudi Arabia has given women more rights in recent years. Since 2018, women have been allowed to drive cars and as spectators to football games in the stadium. An eight-team women’s Premier League started last October. The country is repeatedly criticized for human rights violations. Saudi Arabia has a particularly conservative reading of Islam that curtails women’s rights.