Mark Abberley, Acting Sector Head for Sport, NEOM, explains how the project is spearheading unique opportunities and collaborations that will bring societal benefits for years to come.
With the countdown on to the FIFA World Cup 2034 in Saudi Arabia, it is perhaps little surprise that football is viewed as a central pillar of NEOM’s plans to help nurture a physically active society in the Kingdom – for women as well as men.
Few would have anticipated the transformational progress of women’s football in Saudi Arabia over recent years, and the influence it is having on the growth of women’s sport, which has long been at the forefront of NEOM’s strategic objectives.
Women only started attending football matches in Saudi Arabia in 2018. While women and girls have been playing for some years in private facilities, the first official community football game was played in Riyadh just five years ago. From that moment, momentum has been building, with some 77,000 girls playing football every week in the Kingdom, a significant growth of 46 per cent since 2022.
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation also increased global viewing figures at the beginning of the 2025-26 Saudi Women’s Premier League season by broadcasting games on the All Women’s Sports Network, founded by actor and TV personality Whoopi Goldberg.
GAME-CHANGING PROGRESS
Mark Abberley, Acting Sector Head for Sport, NEOM, describes Saudi Arabia’s progress in women’s football as “remarkable and inspiring to be part of” and adds that “the game has transformed” over recent years.
In March, the NEOM Sports Club Women’s Football Team secured promotion to the Saudi Women’s Premier League, the top tier of women’s football in the Kingdom – an achievement that highlights the rapid growth of the sport across Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Women’s Premier League, which now features ten teams, was established in 2020 with the aim of boosting female participation in the sport. That has been supported by broader youth pathway initiatives, such as the Shuhub Youth Community Football Program, which launched in 2022.
“Domestic clubs are now fielding youth academies for girls, and pathways from schools into organised football have become more structured,” Abberley adds. “Beyond the pitch, women are stepping into leadership, refereeing and coaching roles, showing that the sport is building careers as well as competition.”
PARTICIPATION
The journey so far, which has led to record participation levels, was captured in NEOM’s landmark report, ‘Pioneering Change: Women’s Football in Saudi Arabia’, published earlier this year.
The report shone a spotlight on the status of women’s football in the Kingdom, as well as the steps taken to grow the sport so far, and a look ahead to future opportunities. With contributions from multiple stakeholders from the women’s game, including the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), the Leadership Development Institute, the Saudi Ministry of Sport (MoS), the Saudi Sports for All Federation (SFA) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the report also highlighted the collaborative approach undertaken between different organisations that has helped to supercharge a sharp increase in participation numbers.
Between 2022 and 2023 alone, player numbers at women’s football clubs leapt by 112 per cent, while referee numbers in the women’s game increased by 66 per cent. Meanwhile, participation in domestic women’s football competitions rocketed by 200 per cent, with over 1,800 licensed coaches now across the Kingdom.
With national women’s and men’s teams now active paid the same by law, there has been a concerted investment in driving up quality at elite levels – and this has helped to spark interest.
That’s a fact reflected in multi-club football investment firm the Harburg Group acquiring Al Kholood in July 2025 – becoming the first foreign owners of a Saudi Arabian club. “These insights are a few of many highlighting the depth of opportunity in how women’s football drives tangible strategic efforts that are propelling the sport and communities forward,” Abberley adds.
COMMUNITY-BASED PATHWAYS
This growth in women’s football has led to a significant increase in participation across other women’s sports. Indeed, in the first half of this decade, female sport participation grew by 149 per cent in the Kingdom, with talent and community-based pathways established for both Olympic and non-Olympic sports.
From a local perspective, NEOM Sports Club is at the heart of this shift. The club has made it a core focus to build out their women’s teams and create a clear pathway from the academy. There are now three women’s teams in the academy, with the club making no distinction between men and women when it comes to football development.
For NEOM Sports Club, it means the adoption of a longer-term strategy investing in local talent and building foundations for the future.
“NEOM is committed to supporting the growth and progress of women’s football across the region and beyond,” Abberley says. “Women’s football in Saudi Arabia has become a catalyst for the increased participation of women in sport more broadly, helping to redefine sports culture and societal norms for the future, promoting gender equality, healthier lifestyles and aligning with the Kingdom’s national ambitions of Saudi Vision 2030.”
STRATEGIC FOCUS
Saudi Arabia’s Quality of Life Program – a key aspect of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 roadmap – focuses directly on equality, aiming to boost engagement in sports, culture and social activities – especially among women and young people.
The report noted how more than 103 ,000 memberships had been registered in neighbourhood clubs across the Kingdom, including significant female participation. Indeed, numbers are on the up across numerous sports and events.
In addition to over 100 female players participating in the Global Goals World Cup in 2024, more than 940 athletes competed in the Sand Clash 2024 Fitness Competition, with female athletes included. Moreover, 24,863 people joined community walking challenges via the Sport for All app, which had dedicated spaces for women’s engagement, and 1,832 hobby clubs registered across the Kingdom, providing cultural and creative outlets for women as well as men.
PARTNERSHIPS
This growth in participation has been supported by considerable progress in the field of strategic partnerships.
In 2024, Unilever-owned deodorant brand Rexona entered into a three-year commercial agreement with the Saudi Arabian national women’s football team, marking the latter’s first exclusive partnership. Rexona said that it was “the perfect time” to agree such a deal, with the women’s teams “brimming with young talent”, and added: “By backing these promising athletes now, we not only contribute to their growth and success but also align ourselves with the future stars of the sport.”
In another development, last year NEOM was unveiled as a Presenting Partner of the newly launched AFC Women’s Champions League, which features the top 12 women’s teams from across the continent, as part of a five-year deal with the Asian Football Confederation. NEOM is also the official global partner of the AFC Women’s Asia Cup in 2026, as well as every women’s competition under the confederation’s banner, from under-17 to under-20 tournaments.
Back home, NEOM Sports Club is making strong progress. The women’s team has secured promotion to the top tier Saudi Women’s Premier League, while the men’s side also competes at the highest level of the domestic league – the Saudi Pro League, also is known as the Roshn Saudi League. Beyond football, the club provides a platform for the Tabuk community to take part in multiple different sports – from martial arts to esports. Today, more than 400 people from the region, both female and male across all age groups, are involved with NEOM Sports Club.
FUTURE EXPERTISE
Abberley explains that NEOM is creating talent development pathways across sport, and highlights how collaborations with the likes of McLaren Racing and the Rajasthan Royals cricket franchise, as well as the AFC, connect local and international talent to world-class expertise.
“NEOM takes a unique approach to partnerships, building a 360 framework that supports the entire sporting ecosystem,” Abberley says. “From schools to young professionals, senior leaders and high-performance athletes, programmes are being developed to give Saudi talent access and opportunity on and off the playing field, futureproofing both their careers and the wider industry.
“These partnerships are developing leadership, management, operations and technical talent to support the future sports industry in the Kingdom. Through them, NEOM supports talent development at every stage – from grassroots to elite athletes. They are creating clear pathways for Saudi talent to progress in sport, with initiatives designed to inspire participation and deliver long-term impact.”
The partnership with McLaren Racing, aimed at facilitating professional and personal development of Saudi talent within one of the most competitive environments in sport, is one of NEOM’s most visible partnerships.
Through education workshops focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), as well as secondments and interactive sessions, students, young professionals and leaders are exposed to the pace, standards and problem-solving approaches used at the highest level of motorsport.
NEOM’s graduate programme sends selected young Saudis to McLaren’s headquarters in Woking, England to participate in a six to 12-month secondment. In the 2023-24 cohort, placements included roles in commercial partnerships, engineering and IT, while this year the programme added roles in McLaren Advanced Projects and customer experience. The objective is to enable participants to work alongside high-performing teams to gain insights into international operations and practices, before returning to apply those skills within NEOM and Saudi Arabia.
