History in the making: Saudi woman to referee men’s official international football match

Al Anood Al Asmari

BASRA: Saudi Al Anood Al Asmari is set to make history by becoming the first Arab woman to referee an international men’s football match.

Al Anood has recently been included on the Saudi list of international referees and she was named among the referees of the Gulf Cup being held in Iraq.

Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Yemen are competing in Basra, in southern Iraq, for the biennial cup.

Al Anood had refereed women’s football matches in Saudi Arabia in the first and second divisions.

Al Anood Al Asmari

Ahead of being designated in charge of the matches, she had extensive training under FIFA, the body in charge of world football, as part of Saudi Arabia’s commitment to giving opportunities to women to become referees.

She began her arbitration career at the end of 2018 and enhanced her capabilities by participating in an arbitration course organized by FIFA in Dubai in 2019. She was appointed to referee at the Arab Women’s Cup.

Women in Saudi Arabia have made impressive social gains under an ambitious and bold vision to overhaul society led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.