The 4 goals scored by Al-Bandari Mubarak, Al-Hilal player, against Al-Ahly, during the second round of the “Saudi Women’s Premier League”, highlighted the presence of Saudi female players in the local competition, and their ability to move from simply competing for participation opportunities, to making a difference on the field, at a time when the importance of seizing a place in the starting lineup and maintaining it is increasing.
Al-Bandari’s experience stands out among the Saudi models seeking to prove their presence in the fifth edition of the league, which brings together 8 clubs. Not only did the Al Hilal player participate, but she succeeded in scoring 4 goals during one match, providing an example of the importance of investing in offensive opportunities and turning them into a direct impact on the results of matches.
In Al-Nasr, Basma Al-Shenaifi represents a different model for emerging female players, after she moved from the junior girls’ competitions to the first team, and succeeded in scoring two goals against Al-Ula at the end of last season, before entering the new season as part of the team’s options, in a step that reflects another path for talented Saudi women who are trying to establish their feet at the highest level of local competition.
Between Al-Bandari’s experience, which imposed her scoring presence, and Al-Shenaifi’s career, which moved from the Sunni groups to the first team, a picture of the challenge faced by Saudi female players is formed. Obtaining the opportunity to participate represents the beginning of the road, while continuing in the starting lineup becomes linked to the ability to maintain the level, develop performance, and deal with competition within the team.
Saudi names are not limited to Al-Hilal and Al-Nasr; The ranks of Al-Qadisiyah include Noura Al-Ibrahim and Sarah Khaled, while Maryam Al-Tamimi is present with Al-Ula, and Saba Tawfiq is with Al-Ittihad.
In Al-Nasr, there are Sarah Al-Hamad, Shorouk Al-Hawsawi, and Mubarakah Muhammad and Layan Youssef, while Al-Hilal includes Fatima Mansour, Modi Abdel Mohsen, and Laila Ali, in a scene that reflects the multiplicity and increase in the names of Saudi women present in the competition clubs, and the diversity of the roles that they can perform on the field.
The players’ contributions range from building attacks, creating opportunities, defensive support, and recovering the ball, all the way to scoring and resolving confrontations. These are roles that make the competition for positions linked to what each player offers during the matches, and not just by her presence on the first team roster.
As the rounds continue, maintaining a place in the squad becomes a challenge that requires a stable level, the ability to deal with different competitors, the pressure of results, and the multiplicity of technical options available to the training staff, especially since moving to the first team does not necessarily mean ensuring continuous participation.
The impact of this competition extends to the Saudi women’s national team, whose last camp in Doha witnessed the presence of a number of active players in the local league, moving the competition from the club level to an opportunity to demonstrate capabilities within the group that represents the national team.
This connection between the league and the national team gives additional importance to the minutes that Saudi female players get with their clubs, as an opportunity to gain experience and enhance readiness to participate at the international level.
Between a player searching for her first opportunity, another trying to consolidate her place in the squad, and a third seeking to turn her contributions into influential goals or contributions, the competition for continuous attendance remains the most prominent issue for the Saudi women’s names in the fifth edition of the Women’s Premier League.
Al-Bandari’s quartet and Al-Shenaifi’s goals provide two different models for this competition, at a time when Saudi female players are looking forward to moving beyond the stage of reaching the first team, towards consolidating their roles on the field, and enhancing their presence in the Saudi women’s football journey.
Australian Arthur Pappas, Al-Ettifaq coach, dispelled the pessimism that accompanied his appointment at the beginning of the current season, after he led the team to collect 15 points during the first nine rounds of the Saudi Professional League, approaching the tally of Englishman Steven Gerrard in the same period of the 2023-2024 season, and surpassing what Saudi Saad Al-Shehri achieved last season.
The numerical comparison reveals that Al-Ettifaq collected 16 points under Gerrard’s leadership after nine rounds of the 2023-2024 season, compared to 12 points with Al-Shehri last season, while the team has gained 15 points so far under the leadership of Pappas, who succeeded in changing the first impressions of his experience, after the decision to sign him was met with reservations from a number of the club’s supporters.
The Australian coach did not enjoy wide public support when he announced his return to Al-Ettifaq, after nearly a decade of his previous experience within the technical staff as an assistant coach, but the results he achieved since taking charge reshaped the scene, and gave the fans reasons to be optimistic about the possibility of the team progressing in the standings.
Al-Ettifaq strengthened its start with an away victory over NEOM, one of the most prominent emerging teams this season, after it had shown a competitive personality against Al-Qadisiyah, when it refused to surrender to loss and returned to the match to emerge with an exciting 3-3 draw, in one of the most prominent derby confrontations in the Eastern Province in recent years.
The contradiction appears clear between Pappas' calm personality outside the field and what his team offers inside it, as the Australian coach is known for his reservations in speaking in front of the media, and sometimes avoiding direct answers to some technical questions during press conferences, while the results of the agreement reflect his ability to deal with the challenges that he has faced since the beginning of the season.
The challenge that Pappas is undertaking is not limited to improving Al-Ettifaq’s position in the Saudi League, as he is also looking forward to competing for the Gulf Champions League title for clubs, a tournament that maintains a special place among the club’s fans, after Al-Ittifaq had previously won it three times.
In response to a question from Asharq Al-Awsat about his priorities in light of the overlapping matches of the Saudi League and the Gulf Championship, Pappas confirmed that he is working to compete in both competitions together, stressing the importance of rotating players to ensure that they maintain their readiness during the coming period.
The Australian coach said: “I will work on the two tournaments, and this requires rotation in the elements, and this is what is being worked on,” explaining that the past hiatus period helped the technical staff to enhance harmony between the players, especially since a number of them were unable to attend the external camp during last summer.
He added that the agreement will require playing nine matches within one month, which requires a different preparation to deal with the pressure of confrontations, noting that the team has already begun this stage by facing Al-Khaleej in the league and Kazma in the Gulf Championship.
Pappas explained that the technical staff works to simulate the pressure of matches during training, so that the players are more prepared to play a match every three days, while maintaining the physical and technical level required to compete in the two tournaments.
After its exit from the King’s Cup competitions, Al-Ettifaq began focusing its efforts on the Saudi League and the Gulf Champions League, at a stage that requires the technical staff to carefully manage the list of players, especially with the crowded match schedule during the coming weeks.
Al-Ettifaq will face an important test on Tuesday when it hosts Al-Ittihad in Dammam, in a confrontation that may give it the opportunity to jump to fourth place in the standings if a win is achieved, and strengthen its position among the advanced teams.
The confrontation carries additional importance for Pappas, who over the course of nine rounds was able to transform the public’s reservations about his appointment into increasing optimism, after he came within one point of the tally of the agreement with Gerrard in the 2023-2024 season, and surpassed his tally with Al Shehri last season, awaiting whether he is able to translate this beginning into a season that returns the team to the advanced positions.
Portuguese Jose Gomez, coach of Al-Khaleej, praised the fighting spirit shown by his players during the confrontation with Al-Fateh, after the team succeeded in coming back from two goals down to win 3-2, stressing that he was confident in his players’ ability to turn the result around and achieve victory.
Gomez said, during the press conference after the match: “I would like to thank my players and congratulate them with all my heart. It is not easy to return to the result under these circumstances, especially with the many changes that the team has witnessed, and the signing of a large number of players, and yet the team showed this spirit and fighting.”
He added: “When we were behind in the score, I was confident in our ability to come back, because I had players to rely on. They gave something big, and every follower of the Saudi League has the right to be proud of having a match with such excitement and clubness.”
In response to Asharq Al-Awsat’s question about his previous talk about the spirit and “DNA” that characterizes Al-Fateh players, and how Al-Khaleej was able to come back after falling behind by two goals, Gomez said: “Yes, I said that yesterday, but today it was our players who attended. I made offensive changes, and I was confident that we could turn the result around and achieve victory.”
In an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat after the confrontation, the Portuguese coach explained that his knowledge of Al-Fateh’s strengths helped him deal with the course of the match, indicating that his decision not to include some of his stars from the beginning came to give them enough time to recover.
Gomez said: “We knew Al-Fateh’s strengths, and even after they led by two goals, we played seriously in order to get back in the score. I did not include some of the team’s stars from the beginning of the match so that they could receive adequate recovery, and when they participated they made the difference.”
