Saudi Girls' youth football competitions
This article details the development and current status of girls' youth football competitions in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Girls' U-17 Premier League
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| Organiser(s) | Saudi Arabian Football Federation |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| Region | Saudi Arabia |
| Teams | 7 (2025–26) |
| Current champions | Al-Qadsiah (1st title) |
| Most championships | Al-Qadsiah Al-Shabab (1 title each) |
| Broadcaster | SAFF+ |
| Website | Saudi Women's U-17 Tournament Saudi Girls' U-17 Premier League |
 2025–26 Saudi Girls' U-17 Premier League | |
The Saudi Girls' U-17 Premier League (Arabic: الدوري الممتاز للناشئات), founded as the Saudi Women's U-17 Tournament before changing to its current name after the 2024–25 season. It is the main competition for girls under-17 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
History
edit
Following the growing interest and participation in women's football in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) announced the establishment of the Saudi Women's U-17 Tournament as part of its efforts to develop the women's game in the Kingdom.[1] The competition was created to nurture a new generation of female footballers and to increase the number of official matches available to them, thereby enhancing the technical standards of players.[2]
The inaugural edition included clubs with Under-17 teams as well as three Regional Training Centers (Arabic: مراكز التدريب الإقليمية). Teams were required to register between 14 and 40 players, with eligible ages ranging from 12 to 17 years.[1] Matches were played in a nine-a-side (9v9) format, consisting of two halves of 35 minutes each. Teams were divided into regional groups, with the top two from each group advancing to the knockout stage, which included the quarter-finals, semi-finals, final, and a third-place playoff.[1]
In the second edition, participation was limited to clubs from the Saudi Premier League and First Division.[3] The format was expanded to five groups, and the knockout phase featured 14 qualified teams. Matches were also played under the standard eleven-a-side format, marking a further step toward aligning with international competition standards.[4]
In 2025, the competition was renamed the Saudi Girls' U-17 Premier League and adopted a season-long home-and-away format, featuring seven of the 8 clubs from the 2025–26 Saudi Women's Premier League.[5]
Champions
edit- Saudi Women's U-17 Tournament
| Ed. | Season | Final | Third place match | Venue | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champion | Score | Runner-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | ||||||
| 1 | 2023–24 | Al-Shabab (1)[6] | 1–0 | Al-Hilal | Eastern Flames | 0–0 (4–3 p) | Al-Qadsiah | Noon Academy Stadium, Jeddah | |||
| 2 | 2024–25 | Al-Qadsiah (1)[7] | 3–0 | Al-Nassr | Al-Shabab | 4–0 | Al-Ahli | Irqah Sports Stadium, Riyadh | |||
- Saudi Girls' U-17 Premier League
| Ed. | Season | Champion | Runner-up | Third place | Fourth place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2025–26 | Al-Hilal | Al-Ittihad | Al-Qadsiah | Al-Nassr |
Individual awards
editThe following awards are presented at the end of each season:
| Season | Best Player | Top scorers | Best Goalkeeper |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 | Lulu Al-Jawini (SHB) | Basmah Al-Shnaifi (NSR) | Fajar Sakkaf (HIL) |
| 2024–25 | Ghaday Al-Otaibi (NSR) | Khulud Khaled (Al-Ula) | Jood Al-Saqer (Al-Qadsiah) |
| 2025–26 | Dima Hijazi (ITI) | Danah Al-Dhuhiyan (HIL) | Dana Al-Binali (HIL) |
Saudi Girls' Cup
edit| Organiser(s) | Saudi Arabian Football Federation |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2026 |
| Region | Saudi Arabia |
| Teams | 4 (2026) |
| Website | Saudi Girls' Cup |
The Saudi Girls' U-17 Cup, officially the SAFF Girls' Cup (Arabic: كأس الاتحاد السعودي للناشئات) is a cup tournament for Girls' youth teams aged 17 and under.
History
editThe inaugural edition of the cup competition was announced by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation on 2 May 2026, following the successful launch of the Saudi Women's U-17 Premier League. The new competition features the top four teams from the 2025–26 league season.[8] The competition was played in a knockout format, with the semi-finals contested over two legs, pairing the league champions against the fourth-placed side and the runners-up against the third-placed team.[9] The winners of the semi-finals advanced to a single-match final to determine the champions.[10]
Champions
edit| Year | Champions | Result | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Al-Ittihad | 3–2 | Al-Hilal |
Individual awards
editThe following awards are presented at the end of each season:
| Season | Best Player | Top scorers | Best Goalkeeper | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  Hiba Ouhachi (ITI) |
Lamar Balkhudher (ITI) |
5 goals |  Dana Abdulrahman (ITI) |
Saudi Girls' U-15 Tournament
edit.png) | |
| Organiser(s) | Saudi Arabian Football Federation |
|---|---|
| Founded | 28 March 2025 |
| Region | Saudi Arabia |
| Teams | 14 (2025–26) |
| Current champions | Riyadh: Al Nassr (2st title) Jeddah: Al Ittihad (2st title) Eastern Prov.: Al-Qadsiah (2st title) |
| Website | Saudi Girls' U-15 Tournament |
The Saudi Girls' U-15 Tournament (Arabic: بطولة الإتحاد السعودي للفتيات), is the premier competition for girls aged 15 and under, organized as a regional tournament with each region crowning its own champion.[11]
History
editIn late March 2025, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation established the U-15 Girls' Tournament. The competition aims to provide a platform for identifying and developing young talent for national teams, while improving players' technical abilities and skills in a competitive yet supportive environment.[12]
To support player development, the tournament was open to all clubs, academies, and Regional Training Centers across the Kingdom.[13] Teams were required to register between 16 and 30 players, with eligible players aged 11 to 15.
The emergence of the Saudi girl's U-15 Tournament contributed to the establishment of the Saudi Arabia girl's national under-15 football team for the first time on 25 September 2025, under the leadership of Lebanese coach Sahar Dbouk.[14]
Champions
edit| Ed. | Year | Riyadh Region | Jeddah Region | Eastern Region | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champion | Score | Runner-up | Champion | Score | Runner-up | Champion | Score | Runner-up | ||
| 1 | 2025 | Al-Nassr (1) | 3–0 | Al-Hilal | Al-Ittihad (1) | 2–2 (4–2 p) | Al-Ula | Al Qadsiah (1) | 1–0 | Eastern Flames |
| 2 | 2025–26 | Al-Nassr (2) | 5–0 | Al-Hilal | Al-Ittihad (2) | 3–1 | RTC Medina | Al Qadsiah (2) | 9–1 | RTC Dammam |
Individual awards
edit| Season | Top scorers | Best Goalkeeper | Best Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeddah Region | |||
| 2025 |  Hiba Ouhachi (ITI) |
Ranse Al-Hejaili (ULA) |
Khulud Binkhutheila (ULA) |
| 2025–26 |  Joud Salem (ITI) |
Norah Al-Malki (ITI) |
Aref Al-Kareem (RTM) |
| Eastern Region | |||
| 2025 |  Ciline Kachkach (EFL) |
Sara Al-Karri (EFL) |
 Shakari Owens (QAD) |
| 2025–26 |  Talia Mahmoud (RTD) |
Al-Jouri Al-Dossary (QAD) |
Hour Al-fared (QAD) |
| Riyadh Region | |||
| 2025 | Ghaday Al-Otaibi (NSR) |
Aljoharah Al-Tamimi (NSR) |
 Lamar Abousamra (HIL) |
| 2025–26 |  Sadeyah Hassan (NSR) |
Dana Al-Binali (HIL) |
Ghaday Al-Otaibi (NSR) |
See also
editReferences
edit- 1 2 3 al Jidani, Riyan (23 October 2023). "Saudi Arabia announces details of the Women's U-17 Championship". kooora.com (in Arabic). Jeddah. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
- ↑ "Alya al-Rasheed: Saudi Arabia focuses on developing youth players". kooora.com (in Arabic). 24 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
- ↑ "The Saudi Arabian Football Federation announces the launch of the second edition of the SAFF U-17 Women's Championship" (in Arabic). Riyadh: Saudi Arabian Football Federation. 3 October 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
- ↑ "Women's competitions updates for the 2024–25 season" (in Arabic). Riyadh: Saudi Arabian Football Federation. 12 June 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
- ↑ "Saudi Girls' Premier League: A platform for discovering future stars". goal.com (in Arabic). INDIVISA. 3 October 2025. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
- ↑ al Ajami, Shawk (28 February 2024). "In its inaugural edition, Al-Shabab girls clinch the Federation Cup". arriyadiyah.com (in Arabic). Riyadh. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
- ↑ al-Khaldi, Bashayer (4 February 2025). "From Al-Nassr's goal… Al-Qadsiah girls crowned Federation Cup champions". aawsat.com (in Arabic). Dammam. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ↑ Al-Khaldi, Bshayer (4 May 2026). "4 أندية تدشن كأس الاتحاد السعودي للناشئات". aawsat.com (in Arabic). Dammam. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
- ↑ Al-Jidani, Riyan (2 May 2026). "الهلال والاتحاد والقادسية والنصر في النسخة الأولى من كأس الاتحاد السعودي للناشئات". Goal.com (in Arabic). Jeddah: INDIVISA. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
- ↑ "رياضي / الاتحاد السعودي يدشن بطولة كأس الاتحاد للناشئات تحت 17 عامًا". Riyadh: Saudi Press Agency. 6 May 2026. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
- ↑ "Launch of the Saudi Girls' U-15 Championship with 13 teams participating" (in Arabic). Saudi Arabian Football Federation. 28 March 2025. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
- ↑ "The Saudi Federation launches a new women's football tournament". kooora.com (in Arabic). 28 March 2025. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
- ↑ "Second Edition of the U-15 Girls' Championship to Begin in November, Featuring Clubs and Academies". nabd.com (in Arabic). 27 October 2025.
- ↑ "السعودية تؤسس رسمياً منتخب للفتيات تحت 15 عاماً" [Saudi Arabia officially establishes a girls' national team under 15 years old.]. goal.com/ar/indivisa (in Arabic). 24 September 2025. Retrieved 1 November 2025.