Women's football in the United Arab Emirates

Women's football in the United Arab Emirates
CountryUnited Arab Emirates
Governing bodyUnited Arab Emirates Football Association
National teamWomen's national team
International competitions
Olympics
FIFA Women's World Cup (National Team)
AFC Women's Asian Cup (National Team)

Women's football in the United Arab Emirates is growing in popularity but is mainly played in affluent areas.[1][2][3][4][5]

In order to improve the United Arab Emirates women's national football team, many of the top players are involved in cultural exchanges with the United States in 2011.[6]

There are several clubs in the UAE that have women and girls teams: Go Pro Dubai, CF Football Academy, IFA Sport, Alliance Academy, Banaat FC[7] etc.[5]

In 2023 the first UAE Women's League was organised by United Arab Emirates Football Association. [8]

2023-24 UAE Women's League season includes 10 teams:[8][9]

Match officials

Several Emirati women have broken new ground as football referees at both national and international levels.

  • Amal Jamal – the first Emirati woman to officiate a professional men’s football match, serving as assistant referee in a U-21 Arabian Gulf League game on 23 April 2021. Selected by FIFA to officiate at the 2024 U-17 Women’s World Cup.[10][11]
  • Khulood Al Zaabi – the first Emirati female referee to join the AFC’s elite referee panel; also served as VAR in UAE Pro League games.[12]
  • Ashwaq Al Khoury – recognized as **the first Emirati female football referee from the Arab region**, making history in her officiating roles in 2018.[13]
  • Rauda Al Mansoori – the first Emirati female to referee in the men’s UAE Pro League (Adnoc Professional League), beginning in 2023; her 2025 appointment in a crucial relegation battle was hailed as “a historic match” officiated by a woman.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Women's soccer teams in Saudi Arabia and UAE encouraged to be champions". Alarabiya. Retrieved 2012-07-29.
  2. ^ "Soccer team scores for women's rights in Islamic world in sports — and society". Washington Times. Retrieved 2012-07-29.
  3. ^ Val Henderson. "Philadelphia helps nurture UAE soccer dream". Espn.go.com. Archived from the original on August 30, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
  4. ^ Eugene Harnan. "Soccer league launched by Emirati women - The National". Thenational.ae. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
  5. ^ a b Niloofar Margarite Rouhani. "Women's Sport Participation in the United Arab Emirates : A Case Study" (PDF). Dro.deakin.edu.au. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  6. ^ "UAE female football team pick up tips on tour of US". UAE Embassy USA. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  7. ^ McAuley, John (2023-09-15). "Banaat FC: The UAE's 'game-changing' new club aiming to break barriers in women's football". The National. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  8. ^ a b "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  9. ^ "UAE Football Association". www.uaefa.ae. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  10. ^ "Amal Jamal breaks ground in Emirati officiating". FIFA. 2021-07-07. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
  11. ^ "UAE referee Amal Jamal to officiate at FIFA Women's World Cup". 2024-08-18. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
  12. ^ "My ambition is to officiate UAE Pro League, World Cup, says first Emirati football referee Al Zaabi". 2022-06-29. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
  13. ^ "Ashwaq creates history as UAE's first female referee". 2018-11-05. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
  14. ^ "Historic Match Led by Female Referee in UAE". 2025-02-24. Retrieved 2025-08-26.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.