RIYADH: The 黑料社区n Football Federation on Thursday announced that it will establish its first official women鈥檚 football league as part of wide-ranging strategic plan for the sport, titled 鈥淥ur Tactics for Tomorrow.鈥�

SAFF President Yasser bin Hassan Al-Misehal said: 鈥淲e have many ambitious goals in the upcoming years to promote women鈥檚 soccer through the launch of the first edition of the league for teams, whose players will form the first women鈥檚 national team.鈥�

He added: 鈥淭he first version of the official women鈥檚 league will be launched in the coming months and we aim to reach 1,000 players in the coming years.鈥�

SAFF鈥檚 new league competition will be a separate entity to the Women鈥檚 Football League established by Saudi鈥檚 Sports For All Federation last November, and will involve full-sized 11-a-side matches.

Among the major points discussed by the SAFF in the new plans are the establishment of the first women鈥檚 national team, accessibility through technology, and opening training centers in multiple cities to support girls and boys of varying ages.

Al-Misehal began the announcement by reflecting on some of the federation鈥檚 past achievements, including the Kingdom鈥檚 FIFA World Cup appearances, rise in the FIFA rankings and the national team鈥檚 three AFC Asian Cup wins.

The federation president also discussed the mission to increase participation in the new Saudi women鈥檚 national team until 2025.

In the past two years, the SAFF has set up a Women鈥檚 Football Department, German coach Monica Staab was appointed as manager of the women鈥檚 national team and participation in the Sixth Gulf Women鈥檚 Tournament was confirmed.

Future strategic developments for the women鈥檚 national team will include the establishment of multiple training programs for various age groups and levels, as well as the addition of 1,000 regional players, from which the best will be selected to represent the Kingdom under Staab鈥檚 supervision.

鈥淧rograms will be developed to facilitate the practice of women鈥檚 football according to their levels, and dedicated tracks will be developed and designed for training purposes,鈥� Al-Misehal said.

Providing access to football facilities and programs for various age groups across the Kingdom will be a priority under the new initiatives.

鈥淲e will support children to play the game and try to discover talents from an early age,鈥� Al-Mishal said. 鈥淭oday, we launched a program to support the age groups, and this program will contribute to stimulating and developing the players for all clubs. It includes all ages, not only primary, but also intermediate from 13-15.鈥�

By the year 2025, the SAFF aims to organize more than 50 competitions for different age groups, involving 4,000 players.

鈥淢ore than 13 regional offices of the federation will be structured and organized with the additional goal of increasing the number of regional training centers to 25,鈥� Al-Misehal said.

Meanwhile, the federation鈥檚 digital transformation strategy will be implemented through the use of the MYSAFF platform, making digital applications and resources accessible to all players and potential applicants.

The application will allow players across the Kingdom to shoot a one-minute video showcasing their skills and submit it to the federation electronically, without the need for travel.