This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/12/saudi-football-stadiums-prepare-welcome-women-first-time

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Saudi football stadiums prepare to welcome women for first time Saudi football stadium welcomes women for first time
(about 2 hours later)
Saudi women will attend a football match in Jeddah later on Friday, in a first for the kingdom. Saudi women have attended a football match in Saudi Arabia for the first time, as part of reforms spearheaded by the kingdom’s crown prince.
The country’s top sports authority said family tickets were on sale for Friday and Saturday fixtures in the cities of Jeddah and Riyadh, allowing women to attend league games in separate stands. The development is the latest in a series of reforms in the conservative kingdom spearheaded by its crown prince. Female football fans wearing scarves and waving flags took their seats at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium in Jeddah for Al-Ahli’s match against Al-Batin in the Saudi Pro League. The women however had to enter through designated turnstiles for women and families.
The general sports authority said it had prepared three stadiums to receive women and families and the rest of the country’s football fields would follow by the beginning of the next sporting season. Lamya Khaled Nasser, a 32-year-old from Jeddah, told Agence France-Press she was proud and looking forward to the match. “This event proves that we are heading for a prosperous future. I am very proud to be a witness of this massive change,” she said,
Stadiums will also have separate cafes and prayer rooms for women. Ruwayda Ali Qassem, another Jeddah resident, said Friday was a “historic day in the kingdom which culminates [in] ongoing fundamental changes”.
Al-Ittihad, one of the country’s top football clubs, is scheduled to play in a derby game before mixed spectators on Saturday. It welcomed the move and tweeted a banner featuring a Saudi woman whose face is painted in the golden colours of the club. “I am proud and extremely happy for this development and for the kingdom’s moves to catch up with civilised measures adopted by many countries,” she said before the scheduled 8pm (5pm GMT) kick-off.
The Saudi government said last week women would be allowed to attend a second match on Saturday and a third next Thursday. The rest of the country’s football grounds will be ready for female fans by the beginning of the next sporting season. Stadiums will also have separate cafes and prayer rooms for women.
Al-Ittihad, one of the country’s top football clubs, is scheduled to play in a derby game in front of mixed spectators on Saturday. It prepared for the historic match by tweeting an image featuring a woman’s face painted in gold, the club’s colour.
“Ittihad fans, male and female, are the support of this club, and success is not complete without them coming together to serve this historic entity,” the club tweeted. “With you, the scene is complete.”“Ittihad fans, male and female, are the support of this club, and success is not complete without them coming together to serve this historic entity,” the club tweeted. “With you, the scene is complete.”
Social media users tweeted pictures of a sign showing designated entrances for women at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium in Jeddah, where Friday’s game is being played. The move to open up stadiums to women for the first time was announced last October.
The move to open up stadiums to women for the first time was announced last October. A third stadium in the city of Dammam will also be prepared for families.
“The general sports authority has provided everything that would create an attractive sports environment for families and provide everything needed to ensure their privacy,” the country’s sports governing body said in a statement.“The general sports authority has provided everything that would create an attractive sports environment for families and provide everything needed to ensure their privacy,” the country’s sports governing body said in a statement.
On Thursday women flocked to Le Mall in Jeddah to view the kingdom’s first car exhibition aimed at them, a few months after King Salman issued a decree granting them the right to drive from June 2018 – a move opposed by hardline clerics.On Thursday women flocked to Le Mall in Jeddah to view the kingdom’s first car exhibition aimed at them, a few months after King Salman issued a decree granting them the right to drive from June 2018 – a move opposed by hardline clerics.
The exhibition focused on fuel-efficient cars and provided a team of saleswomen to help their new customer base. The showroom carried signs emblazoned with the slogan “Drive and Shop”, a play on words in Arabic, using the female form of the verbs.The exhibition focused on fuel-efficient cars and provided a team of saleswomen to help their new customer base. The showroom carried signs emblazoned with the slogan “Drive and Shop”, a play on words in Arabic, using the female form of the verbs.
The driving and football developments are the latest in a series of social reforms ordered by the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who wields extraordinary power. Last year he pledged to modernise the kingdom and to scale back the power of its ultraconservative clerics, returning Saudi Arabia to what he described as “moderate Islam”.The driving and football developments are the latest in a series of social reforms ordered by the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who wields extraordinary power. Last year he pledged to modernise the kingdom and to scale back the power of its ultraconservative clerics, returning Saudi Arabia to what he described as “moderate Islam”.
Saudi women still require a legal guardian for many matters, and years of oppression and appeasement of the top clerics have widened the gender gap and held women back from participating in the workforce and public life.Saudi women still require a legal guardian for many matters, and years of oppression and appeasement of the top clerics have widened the gender gap and held women back from participating in the workforce and public life.