Where will Saudi Arabia stop? The overwhelming favourite to host the FIFA World Cup? in 2034, the kingdom could also be entering another race: the Women’s World Cup in 2035. The technical director of Saudi women’s football, Monika Staab (pictured above), explained this on Thursday 19 October at the Leaders Sports Business conference in London: “I have told our sports officials that we need time to get to the World Cup. I know they want to host the men’s World Cup. Why not host the women’s version in 2035? We’re in the process of preparing a team to be at least competitive at that level.” Monika Staab, 64, was the first coach of the Saudi women’s team when it was created in 2021. Since her arrival at the head of the national team, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) has raised the level of its ambitions on the women’s field, setting itself the target of qualifying for the finals of a World Cup within the next ten years.
