Meet Dona Rajab - the Saudi football coach blazing a trail for women in the kingdom

Dona Rajab, assistant coach of the Saudi Arabia women’s national team, is making waves in the kingdom having become one of the first women from the country to obtain an A Coaching Licence from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Rajab hopes to be something of a trailblazer in an already burgeoning coaching scene in Saudi Arabia. In the past two years, the number of female coaches in the kingdom has increased from a little more than 100 to almost 1,100. Meanwhile, local coaching courses are understood to have risen by 550 per cent, with overseas courses up by 200 per cent, according to the Saudi Arabi Football Federation.

Here, Rajab tells The National about her footballing background, her work with the national team, and how she hopes many more Saudi women follow in her footsteps.

“I grew up in the United States and that’s where my journey in football began. I played there for 15 years, but stopped after I returned to Saudi in 2015.

“When I arrived in Jeddah, I knew that women’s football wasn’t officially recognised in the country at the time. I did, however, meet lots of girls who were playing it as a hobby. Football has always been the No 1 sport here in Saudi – and women’s passion for football is the same as men’s.

“I got to know many of these girls better and since I was the most experienced football player, they eventually asked me to train them and teach them things about the game. They wanted to be better players, so this was the beginning of my coaching career. That was in 2017, when I was 26, and I’ve been coaching ever since.”

“First and foremost, everyone wishing to take the course must already have their AFC B Coaching Licence. Developing as a coach is a process in itself, and to progress professionally,