Despite all the obstacles it continues to face, women’s football is becoming increasingly popular in the Middle East. It is on the up in spite of the continuing lack of acceptance and security.
The pieces of the puzzle of women’s football in the Middle East do not yet quite fit together. The picture is still incomplete, but is starling to take shape – and things are certainly looking positive at the moment. Women’s football is undoubtedly making strides both in terms of popularity and quality. FIFA can certainly take some of the credit for this, since it has introduced flexible and tailored development projects throughout the region and in individual countries and is now implementing them in cooperation with the relevant football associations.
Bahrain is one country that has already made significant advances, and the small island in the Persian Gulf has set its sights even higher. The foremost proponent of women’s football is the Minister for Sport Sheikh Fawaz, who lives right next to the national stadium. His recipe for success is to organise schools competitions, which are already being run very successfully at private schools and are now to be introduced in the country’s 40 public schools. “Instead of two or sometimes three club teams, we now have six teams in our league, which begins in a few weeks,” says Sheikh Ali bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, the vice-president of the Bahrain Football Association. There are also plans to organise a cup competition and to revive the national team. Khalid Al-Harban has been given the job of waking the team from its hibernation. “The girls and women who play football in Bahrain are thirsty for knowledge, very committed and talented,” says the German development assistant Monika Staab (see box), who initially set up the team and developed it into a strong unit. The FA now wants to build on her work, as highlighted by its President: “We warn a strong national team. To achieve that we need partners ftom business, which in turn requires acceptance.” As always in this region, it is a balancing act between modernity, religion and tradition.
PERSISTENCE
Women’s football is also gaining ground in neighbouring Oman, where three clubs (Bausher, Majan and Oman) now want to establish a league together, and renowned coach Haroon Amur Al-Bartamani has been appointed to manage the national team. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) instructor and men’s goalkeeping coach took up his position in the spring and one of his first assignments was a futsal tournament in Jordan. Buthaima Faisal, the young chairwoman of the national committee for women’s football, whose job it is to increase the sport’s popularity, is also responsible for securing the necessary support from the football association. Her younger sister Fatima Faisal Al-Raisi plays for Bausher.
There have also been positive developments in the United Arab Emirates, where women’s football was officially allowed only two years ago. Women now play at the Abu Dhabi Club and for some foreign-owned company teams. More teams and clubs arc sure to follow.
Kuwait is also caking measures to develop women’s football. This is all down to Naeema Al-Sabah, one of the royal family’s most influential women, who presented an ambitious development programme on the occasion of the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup in China. The first courses were held at the beginning of this year. The national team is expected to be formed within a year, and will make its international debut in Jordan. All of this in a country where women’s football was considered unacceptable only three years ago.
GOOD NEWS
Qatar and Saudi Arabia are not yet at such an advanced stage, but some women’s
matches have been played at universities this year.
The situation is currently much better in Central Asia. In Afghanistan, girls’ football was able to gain a foothold within five years, with German help. There are now 22 teams across the country, which have already recorded their first international successes. In 2007, the Afghan junior side narrowly missed out on winning the Pakistani championship. The only thing that continues to hold them back is the precarious state of security, which means that when they have the chance, they train abroad or on the grounds of the US embassy in Kabul. “Luckily nothing bad has ever happened here,” says Klaus Staerk, one of the German coaches involved in Afghan women’s football. In order for this positive trend to continue, the national team players are being trained as coaches, with a view to teaching schoolgirls the basics of football.
There is also good news to report from other countries in the Middle East. Women’. football has gained significant acceptance in Palestine. This is confirmed by Samar Ara; Moussa of the University of Bethlehem who founded Palestine’s first women’s team in 2002. More teams have been set up it recent years, as has the first official women competition, which has now developed into a proper futsal tournament with four teams currently participating – Takafi (Bei Sahour-Bethlehem), Paladna (Bethlehem Orthodox (Beit Jala-Bethlehem) an Sireah, the champions from Ramallah Adequate playing fields are still lacking but the existing concrete surfaces are no bad in comparison to the facilities in other Arab countries.
The picture is marred by the politic problems that make life difficult for the women’s national team in Palestine, in particular the unavoidable delays at checkpoints that impinge on training especially since it is virtually only possible to travel outside of Palestine via Jordan’s capital Amman. “A journey from Bethlehem to Amman, which is only a stone’s throw away, takes a whole day over the River Jordan bridge,” deplores Samar Aray Moussa.
“living here is very difficult,” complains 23-year-old Honey Talijieh, who has been named both footballer and sportswoman of the year in Palestine in the last three years. The situation is even more difficult for the players from Ga2a, who were last allowed to participate in a tournament in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in 2007. And yet football fever among Palestinian women continues unabated.
“WE’RE MAKING PROGRESS”
Samar Aray Moussa is unwavering in her commitment to football and to challenging the political problems they face on a daily basis. She is vindicated by success. The national team’s progress is
now visible, and it seems that their entry into the FIFA world ranking is only a matter of time. Confidence levels are high, and shared by Honey Talijieh: “I dream of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011′” in Germany. If we could train and play without disturbances, we would be among the best teams, because our commitment knows no limits.”
Although this dream may .seem unrealistic, the signs are positive. Girls’ football is now well established in schools and was boosted by the participation of a team in the Arab schools championships in Amman.
Other success stories include the establishment of a new team in Hebron and the construction of two playing fields in Bethlehem. A third is likely to follow with the first women’s international to be held in Palestine (against Jordan). “We’re making progress,” says Samar Aray Moussa happily.
Jordan continues to lead the way in women’s football in the Middle East, thanks to the commitment of the two Jordanian princesses Reem and Haja and also the support of Egypt. “We take much pleasure in sporting exchanges and love making friends,” says Amman Club’s Hakim Haffar of the women’s football boom in his country.
Jordan has long had a women’s league (and more recently an under-16 league) and a national team. In this unstable region, Jordan, whose football association even appointed a designated women’s football officer this year with the support of the AFC, has established itself as a host for international tournaments.
Although perhaps not always to the same extent, women’s football in the Middle East is definitely on the up. The picture is slowly starting to take shape – and things are looking good.

Roman Abramovich has had a profound impact on English football, changing the face of the game since he bought Chelsea five years ago for £140 million (€176.7 million). He became the first of a series of billionaires to take control of English Premier League clubs and has spent in the region of £650 million (€820.4 million) on the Stamford Bridge club, which has consequently become known as “Chelski”. Not only did Abramovich’s money invigorate England’s transfer market and enable players to earn mega-wages, it also sparked a trend in foreign ownership of English Premier League clubs and saw several billionaires grab a stake in the game as the money from broadcasting rights spiralled.
The Premier League’s rich list features club owners such as Malcolm Glazer at Manchester United, Thaksin Shinawatra at Manchester City, Tom Hicks and George Giliett at Liverpool, Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson at West Ham United, Mike Ashley at Newcastle United and Randy Lerner at Aston Villa. Plus, there are major stakeholders in the shape of Stan Kroenke and Alisher Usmanov at Arsenal and Joe Lewis at Tottenham who have ploughed money into clubs desperate to compete with Abramovich’s spending spree.
Despite their status as the second richest club in the world behind Real Madrid, Manchester United have not appeared to be ostentatious big spenders since the Glazer family took control of Old Trafford in May 2005 following a £790-million (€997-miliion) takeover. Payments for new players have been relatively modest, although since the Glazers’ arrival the club has still gone on to dominate English football and won the European Cup for a third time in May.
Carlos Tevez’s services were secured in a two-year loan deal worth a reported £30 million (€37.9 million), but otherwise just £75.4 million (€95.2 million) has been spent on fresh talent. However at the time of writing, Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov allegedly on his way to Old Trafford from Tottenham in a £20-million (€25.2-million) deal. Elsewhere, American duo Hicks and Giliett have resisted the temptation to sell the club to the Dubai Investment Consortium and have sanctioned the spending of some £60 million (€75.7 million) on transfer fees for new players, such as the club’s record signing Fernando Torres for £26.5 million (€33 million), since taking over the Anfield club in a £218.9-miliion (€276.3 million) deal in February 2007.
Down the M6 at Villa Park, fellow American Lerner has spent £40 million (€50.4 million) on transfers since his £ 63-million (€79.5 million) takeover in September 2006 and splashed out more on Blackburn’s Brad Friedei.
Former Thai Prime Minister Shinawatra has been in charge of Manchester City since his £82-million (€103.5-million) purchase of the club in June 2007, but has already spent millions hiring and firing manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, now Mexico’s national team coach.
There is more to taking over a Premier League club than meets the eye, however, as sports retail tycoon Ashley discovered at Newcastle, where he paid out £134 million (€169.1 million) to buy the club before clearing its debts of £80 million (€101 million). It is little wonder, therefore, that Ashley wants players such as Michael Owen to take pay cuts as he attempts to reduce the turnover-to-wages ratio, having sanctioned the spending of £30 million (€37.9 million) on new faces and wages in the region of £80,000 (€101,000) per week for free agent Mark Viduka and £60,000 (€75,700) per week and £5.8 million (€7.3 million) for Joey Barton.
At West Ham, Gudmundsson authorised a £34-miliion (€42.9-mi!lion) outlay on transfer fees alone in the summer after his June 2006 takeover, followed by another £16 million (€20.2 million) the next year after a nerve-jangling escape from relegation.

Thanks to Grand Prix tycoons Bernie Ecclestone, and Flavio Briatoreand their mega-rich pal Lakshmi Mittal, Queens Park Ranqers are now fast lane. Can the wealthy trio create a formula for success that will have the club roaring back into the English Premier League following a 12 year exile from their country’s elite?
Queens Park Rangers were standing on the precipice Or relegation when motor-racing supremo Ecclestone – worth £2.25 billion (€2.84 billion) – and Renault boss Briatore – worth £110 million (€139 million) – rode to the West London club’s rescue in October last year to transform its fortunes. “Flavio told me he was looking to buy a restaurant. When he called me to calk about QPR, that’s what 1 thought he was talking about. The club wasn’t on my radar,” said Ecclestone, who usually watched Chelsea alongside friend Roman Abramovich.
The financial problems that had blighted Loftus Road and once pushed the club to within two hours of extinction were suddenly banished as QPR fans started taunting rivals by chanting “One-nil to the billionaires”. Together, the pair spent an estimated £20 million (€25.2 million) taking control of the club a”d clearing debts before the family of London-based Indian billionaire steel tycoon Mitral – worth a cool £19.25 billion (€24.3 billion) – acquired a fifth of the club. The well-heeled trio seem destined to challenge Abramovich and Harrods owner Mohammed al-Fayed at Fulham.
BRIATORE’S WARNING
However, whilst Ecclestone and Briatore are synonymous with high-speed activities on the race track, they are determined QPR’s progress will take place at a sensible pace and are prudently setting their sights on a return to the Premier League by 2010. They have resolved not to simply bankroll the club like Abramovich at Stamford Bridge, but instead to place a firm emphasis on up-and-coming new recruits and long-term planning. “Chelsea have done fantastically and Roman has done an amazing job,” Briatore said. “They .should be proud of what they have achieved there. However, we are a Championship club and will take a different approach.”
Briatore warned fans not to expect instant success despite QPR’s status as arguably the world’s richest football club. “QPR were in a very dangerous situation and without us the club might not have existed anymore. People have very short memories and need to show a bit of patience,” said Briatore, who is chairman of QPR’s parent company alongside silent investor Mittals football-mad son-in-law, Amit Bharia, who is vice-chairman. “There is no pressure to go up this season, absolutely not, because it has always been a four-year programme. One year has passed and it wasn’t easy. This year we’re looking co consolidate and be more consistent so it’s now a three-year programme”. The Italian added: “I have come to love the club, the people and the loyalty of the supporters but we must remember this is a business and although you must love what you do, you cannot make difficult business decisions purely with your heart. We have to take it slowly, step by step. I don’t want to go up to the Premiership and come straight down again like an elevator. Little by little – that’s the way to become a leading light in English football.”
DREAMING OF ZIDANE
This cautious strategy has not stopped the club from being linked with high-profile signings such as former Real Madrid team-mates Luis Figo, Michel Salgado and even Zinedine Zidane as manager. Instead, the club appointed former striker Iain Dowie as manager and showed they were building for the future
with up-and-coming players by signing the likes of Argentinian midfielder Emmanuel Jorge Ledesma from Genoa with a view co a £2.4-mi!lion (€3-miIlion) deal, Czech goalkeeper Radek Cerny and ex-Newcastle defender Peter Ramage.
“They might only have made relatively modest signings so far in terms of transfer fees but there’s no doubt at all that Rangers will be able to pay Premier League-style wages to attract high-calibre players,’ former Rangers manager Don Howe told FIFA magazine. “That means the future is looking really bright because the club will be able to pay salaries that others outside the top division won’t be able to match. They’ll be the envy of lots of their rivals and they’re ideally located, right in the heart of London, to attract top-notch players. Plus, they won’t have to sell their best players, as has traditionally been the case in the past. Just look at the likes of Paul Parker, who ended up at Manchester United, Les Ferdinand, who went to Newcastle, and Dave Seaman, who moved to Arsenal for big money the club couldn’t afford to turn down. I sincerely hope it works out because it’s a fantastic club with a fantastic history.”
LIKE A CIRCUS
As for supporters, they are cautiously optimistic about the future after a tumultuous few years. “It’s been like a circus over the last few years. It’s great that stability has now made a welcome return because it’s about time QPR was run properly after five years of madness,” said Paul Finney of fans’ group Independent Rs. What he has in mind is the so-called “Great Brawl of China” when a friendly against China’s Olympic team descended into a full-scale punch-up and a winding-up order from the St
John Ambulance service over an unpaid £18,000 (€22,700) bill. Plus, there was a court case when seven men were acquitted of charges of conspiracy to blackmail, false imprisonment and possession of a hand-gun after Gianni Paladini, the then chairman, alleged a gun had been held to his head before a home match against Sheffield United.
“We have a great tradition of football, with superbly gifted individuals such as Les Ferdinand, Stan Bowles and Paul Parker, and in better days we went to the likes of Oldlrafford, An field and Arsenal’s old Highbury ground and won,” Finney said. “We’re proud of the club because of our heritage and because it’s so closely aligned with the community. We really feel the club is going places but I just
hope the new owners take the current fans with them and don’t go pricing them out with their season ticket hikes because the atmosphere at our home matches has been very special throughout the hard times. It would be a crying shame if that vanished as the club talks about globalisation and brand development.”
AN AMAZING PLACE
Off the Reid, the club has pulled in a number of high-profile sponsorship deals thanks to their owners’ commercial contacts, and the consortium has vowed to modernise the home ground in Shepherd’s Bush, although relocation remains an option. “This is an amazing place and the history is very important,” Briatore said. “The club has been part of this community for generations. It would be a pity if we had to move but it might be necessary. First, let’s fill Loftus Road. If you have a small restaurant then you try to make sure all the tables are busy at night before you move on to the next restaurant.”
The club is preparing to secure a place at European football’s top table alongside the continent’s football elite in the UEFA Champions League once promotion is secured, bur there will be no bottomless pit of money available to make these dreams come true. “QPR isn’t a wealthy club. It’s a club that’s owned by some wealthy people,” Ecclestone said. “No one is going to be splashing out lots of money. “Things need to be done correctly and that’s what we’re going to do.”
“In life you have to set achievable goals,” Bhatia said. “The first was to avoid relegation. The next step is to be promoted. Whether that comes this season or in three years is not really super important. Subsequent to that, does the Champions League figure? Of course it does. I dream just like anybody else does. Should we be competitive in the Premiership? Of course, otherwise there’s no point going up there.”