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Description
This book traces the emergence of women's football in Saudi Arabia from the infancy of the grassroots-driven Riyadh Women's Football League established in 2007 to the launch of the state-sponsored, official women's community football league in 2020.
For a long time, Saudi Arabia had a men's national football team, but no women's team. Until 2018, women did not have access to football stadiums, and before 2020 there was no official women's league. On the face of it there were no women in football until top-driven policy reform suddenly turned the situation upside-down. But the story of women's football unfolding away from these headlines is a completely different one.
The research in this work is based on fieldwork focused on the Riyadh Women's Football League, interviews with women players and the pioneers of women's football in Saudi Arabia, amongst others, as well as the author's attendance at games and practices, and analysis of social and traditional media and other available documents.
In tracing the developments of women's football in Saudi Arabia, Charlotte Lysa offers a ground-breaking social history of contemporary Saudi society and a narrative of change: change within football, change in women's roles, and change in the structures of society.
Table of Contents
Note on transliteration and translation.
1 Introduction: Pioneer Players.
Women and football
The making of a Kingdom.
Changing Saudi Arabia.
Evolving norms and process of change.
Researching women's football in Saudi Arabia.
Outline of the book.
2 The Contested Field of Saudi Football
Understanding football's political and social role.
The emergence and prohibition of Saudi football
The (first) international turn in Saudi football
Clerical concerns over football fanatism and female fans.
The contested field of international football
Conclusion.
3 Women between law and norms.
Interpreting the law.
The male guardianship system and its critics.
The gendered organization of public space.
Women's and girls' access to physical activity and sports.
Perceptions and discourse on women's sports.
Football as a masculine domain.
Factors impacting the evolution of law and norms.
Conclusion.
4 Rejecting status quo: The inception and evolution of women's football
The beginning.
Growing amidst challenges.
Motivation, support, and the lack thereof
Secluded play.
Travelling teams.
Building organization and recruiting players.
Financial constraints and class.
Rejecting hegemonic norms on women and football
Conclusion.
5 Inspiring change through norm entrepreneurship from below.
The Alyamamah Academy.
Charity football tournaments.
Playing on her own terms.
Adapting arguments and appearances.
Deconstructing football as a masculine domain.
Norm entrepreneurs.
Conclusion.
6 Pressure from above, and abroad.
International pressure for women's sports participation.
International organizations and local realities.
Sports and the Vision 2030.
Action and reaction to signals from above.
Taking part in transformation.
Bottom-up approaches to top-down pressure for change.
Conclusion.
7 Narrating change through invoking continuity.
The policy shift in women's and girls' sports.
First international football competitions.
Narrating women's sports.
A future grounded in the past
Authoritarian approaches.
Normative reimaginations of the new ideal Saudi woman and its challenges.
Conclusion.
8 Conclusion.
Playing for change.
A field contested.
The consolidation phase and beyond.
Notes.
Bibliography.
Product details
| Published | Oct 30 2025 |
|---|---|
| Format | Hardback |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 224 |
| ISBN | 9780755644209 |
| Imprint | I.B. Tauris |
| Dimensions | 234 x 156 mm |
| Series | Gender and Islam |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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