Women's sport in Saudi Arabia has been a controversial topic for many years due to the suppression of female participation in sport by conservative Islamic religious authorities.
Contents
In 2013 Saudi Arabia’s first dedicated sports centre for girls was opened in Khobar, offering training programs that include physical fitness, karate, yoga and weight loss as well as special activities for children. That year it was also announced that Saudi Arabian girls are officially allowed to practice sports in private schools, which they had not officially been allowed to do previously, though some had done so unofficially. Sports activities are prohibited in public schools for girls.
Olympic and Paralympic games
The Saudi 2012 Summer Olympics team included female athletes for the first time ever, and they also sent women athletes again in 2016. but the Paralympic team has not yet included any women.
2012 Summer Olympics in London
Saudi Arabia sending women to compete in the Olympics in 2012 was listed at number two on Cambridge News top nine milestones for women in sports. Sarah Attar participated in women's track finishing last in the competition, while Wojdan Shaherkani was defeated in her Judo competition in under two minutes. Despite the losses, being the first women to represent their country in the Olympics is considered an overall success for the participants, and Attar received a standing ovation as she pursued the finish line from the audience in London. However, coverage of the female participants was absent in the Saudi media.
Football
The nonexistence of a women's national football team is a perennial issue between FIFA and the Saudi Arabia Football Federation. FIFA changed their rules in 2012 to allow players to wear a hijab during FIFA sanctioned matches, but Saudi authorities declined to comment.
Basketball
In Jeddah in 2003 the first women’s basketball team in Saudi Arabia was formed by Lina Al-Maeena, co-founder of the Jeddah United Sporting Company; the first sports organization that sought to include the development of women athletes in 2006. Jeddah United provides an environment where male and female, children and adult, can participate in sporting activities. Their goal is to embrace all Saudis to partake in physical activity through sports all around the country. As of December 2013 the number of members enrolled was above 500. Jeddah United has also played a role in establishing similar organizations in Khobar (Khobar United) and in the capital city Riyadh (Riyadh United). Their long term goal is to produce top class athletes that can compete on a professional level throughout the country, and on the world stage.