Saudi Arabia launches its new Professional Women's Premier League with the Premier League to follow

October 14 - The new Saudi Women's Premier League kicked off last night in Riyadh.

The eight-team competition is closely tied to the men's game, with traditional men's clubs in the Saudi Pro League having established women's teams to participate.

Next month, the Saudis plan to launch the Premier League, bringing the total number of teams in the two competitions to 25.

The new league - the region's only professional women's league - has attracted female players from overseas. Teams compete for a prize pool of SAR 1.43 million ($380,500).

Premier League teams will play each other home and away over the next 14 weeks. The Premier League, launched on November 11, will feature 17 teams from across the Kingdom playing for a prize pool of 660,000 SAR (≈ $175,580). The champion will be promoted to the Premier League.

Women's football is growing rapidly in Saudi Arabia, from youth and grassroots development to training female coaches and referees.

Last month, the national team held its first-ever home games against Bhutan.

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