Al-Nassr, Sama to kick off inaugural Saudi Women’s Premier League on Thursday

RIYADH: The inaugural Saudi Women’s Premier League will kick off on Thursday when Al-Nassr take on Sama at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium’s reserve pitch in Riyadh.

The historic fixture will mark the start of the new competition organized by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, which will include eight teams facing each other on a home-and-away basis over a total of 56 matches.

In 2020, the Women’s Football League, established by the Saudi Sports for All Federation, took place and that was followed last year by the SAFF Regional Football League.

The revamp of the women’s football pyramid in the Kingdom means that alongside the eight-team Premier League, the SAFF Regional Football League will now be known as the First Division and will include 17 teams competing across three cities.

The SAFF also announced that ticket prices for the Premier League would be set at SR40 ($10.60).

Friday’s two Premier League fixtures will see Al-Yamamah face Eastern Flames (Al-Sharqiya), also at the reserve pitch of Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, and Al-Shabab take on Al-Hilal at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.

The final match of the opening round will see Al-Ittihad meet Al-Ahly on Saturday at King Abdullah Sports City.

The SAFF has set aside total prize money of almost $370,000 for the competition, with the winners walking way with $133,000. Second place will receive around $80,000, and third $53,000.

The clubs finishing in fourth to eighth positions will receive prizes ranging from $27,000 to $16,000.