LONDON: Saudi Arabia’s strategy around female sporting participation is shifting to focus on ensuring diversity and inclusion, Shaima Saleh Al-Husseini of the Saudi Sports for All Federation said on Thursday.
Al-Husseini was speaking at the WiMENA Women in Sport conference at Chelsea FC in London about the development of women in sport in the Kingdom.
She said: “It’s about creating the right environment (for women). Having modest wear (for example), giving them the option to be fully involved in main events or having a segregated area where they feel comfortable being physically active.”
She added: “We are very proud to now be including women in all our events, and when we talk about diversity and inclusion, we are talking about women of all ages, all ethnic backgrounds and capabilities, and ensuring we have tailored programs for each of these groups within the community.”
Mohammed Awlia, general manager of strategy and planning at the Saudi Ministry of Sports, was also speaking on the panel and he cited the setting up of the National Sport Strategy as the catalyst for the rapid development of the Kingdom’s female sport scene.
He expanded on Al-Husseini’s remarks by adding that the NSS worked to develop female participation at all levels, from amateur to professional, and that the focus of all sporting authorities and federations in the Kingdom was on how to turn participation into medals, titles and championships.
Jan Paterson, managing director of NEOM Sport, told those attending the conference that the megaproject’s role through sporting participation was to help implement and amplify the NSS.
She said: “(Our role) is to genuinely begin to realize the aspirations of a country, of which 60 percent of its population is under the age of 30 and whose ambition is real.”
Martin Whitaker, CEO at Saudi Motorsport, a promotion company set up to commercialize the sport in the Kingdom, said there were a growing number of opportunities for women to get involved in the business side of the sport.
He said those opportunities, which mirrored the growing sporting participation in the Kingdom, were testament to the increasing diversity and inclusiveness of Saudi society.
He added: “(As well as racetracks) we have constructed a team of people, the majority of whom are young Saudis. Some 42 percent of our staff are female. I think that’s a really encouraging situation for us to be in. I’m really proud of that.”
