Saudi Arabia will get its first-ever female international football referee, with Anoud al-Asmari appointed by football’s global governing body FIFA last week, alongside seven other Saudi referees who received the official FIFA badge.
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation published the list of new referees just days after the conservative kingdom announced it had nabbed five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo to play for the Saudi Pro League club, Al Nassr.
Anoud al-Asmari told the AFP news agency she is “happy to be the first Saudi female referee to receive the international badge in the history of Saudi sports.”
The 34-year old began her career as a referee in 2018 – a few months after the kingdom announced it was changing its laws to allow women to drive and obtain driver’s licences.
In February last year, the National Women’s Team made their international debut in the Maldives, after the first edition of the Saudi Women’s League (which had eight clubs) concluded in 2021.
The kingdom has made strides to change its culture and laws regarding gender inequality since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman came into power in 2017.
Last August, Somalian-British featherweight boxer, Ramla Ali and Dominican boxer, Crystal Nova participated in the kingdom’s first women’s professional boxing match.
In the last five years, female participation in the workforce has almost doubled, with more women assuming jobs given exclusively to men and migrant workers.
Saudi Arabia has applied to hold the Women’s Asian Cup in 2026 and is also bidding for the men’s Asian Cup in 2027.
It is also teaming up with Egypt and Greece for a joint bid for the 2030 World Cup.