This week, we review the rosters and key arrivals at each club, examine Al-Nassr’s success in the West Asian Women’s Clubs Championship and Saudi Women’s Super Cup, and look at the latest developments in African qualifying for the 2028 Olympic Games.
Saudi Arabia Women’s Premier League 2026-27
The Saudi Women’s Premier League was scheduled to expand to ten teams this season following the promotion of Al-Taraji, Al-Nahda and Al-Amal from the First Division. Eastern Flames were relegated, but the planned expansion did not go ahead after Al-Nahda and Al-Amal withdrew for financial reasons. Al-Amal had previously played in the top flight in 2024-25, alongside Al-Taraji.
Al-Ahli
Al-Ahli have six imports this season, from Argentina, Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Dominican Republic, England and Nigeria. That is a considerable change from last season, when their overseas contingent came from Cameroon, DR Congo, Ghana, Jordan, Morocco and the United States.
DR Congo international Eva Sumo, 32, joined from FC Nantes in France, where she had spent her entire career. She replaces winger Naomie Kabakaba, who scored 44 goals in 35 appearances during two seasons with Al-Ahli.
Argentinian defensive midfielder Ruth Bravo, 34, arrived from Mexico after one season with Pachuca and four with Leon. She scored 12 goals in 143 regular-season and play-off appearances in Liga MX Femenil, having previously played in Spain and Argentina.
Defender Lucia Leon, 29, was born in Spain but has represented the Dominican Republic internationally since 2021. She spent the last two seasons in Australia’s Ninja A-League with Wellington Phoenix and Adelaide United, scoring five goals in 26 appearances for Adelaide in 2024-25. Her career has also included Watford and Tottenham Hotspur in England, as well as Madrid CFF and Real Betis in Spain.
English goalkeeper Claudia Moan, 27, joined after two seasons with Newcastle United. She previously came through Sunderland’s academy and was named Barclays Women’s Championship Player of the Season and Golden Glove winner in 2023-24, having conceded just 18 goals in 22 matches and kept ten clean sheets.
Forward Adriana Semedo, 26, was born in Portugal and has represented Cape Verde since 2023. She moved from Porto and has spent most of her career with Portuguese clubs, apart from a short spell with Zaragoza CFF in Spain.
Al-Hilal
Al-Hilal’s six imports come from Brazil, Ghana, Morocco and Nigeria, with two players each from Brazil and Nigeria.
One of the most significant changes is the arrival of Moroccan forward Ibtisam Jraidi, 33, from Al-Ahli. She scored 74 goals in 50 matches during four seasons with her former club and has already scored three times in three regular-season appearances for Al-Hilal. She replaces fellow Moroccan international Ghislane Chebbak, 36, who spent one season at the club.
Al-Ittihad
Al-Ittihad’s overseas players represent Algeria, Nigeria, Paraguay, Slovenia, South Africa and Spain.
Paraguayan left winger and defender Lice Chamorro, 27, joined from Badalona in Spain, where she scored six goals in 26 appearances. Her previous clubs include Espanyol, Alaves and Huelva in Spain, as well as Cerro Porteno in Paraguay.
South African international forward Hildah Magala, 31, has played in Sweden with Moron, Korea Republic with Sejong Sportstoto, and Mexico with Mazatlan and Tijuana. She also had a short loan spell with the Kansas City Current in the NWSL in 2024. Earlier this season, she played for Deportivo de La Coruña in Spain’s Liga F.
Forward Maria Diaz Cirauqui, 31, grew up in Spain and has represented the unofficial Basque women's national team. She is in her second season with Al-Ittihad after playing for Al-Shabab in 2024-25. Her European career has included Dijon and FC Fleury 91 in France and Athletic Bilbao in Spain.
The club also has Saudi Arabia national team captain Bayan Sadagah, 31, whose route into professional football has been unusual. Before becoming a full-time player, she worked as an emergency room nurse while combining her job with amateur football.
Sadagah played youth football in Saudi Arabia before moving with her family to Egypt, where she had access to organised training at a club whose coaches included members of Egypt’s women's national team. Returning to Saudi Arabia, she had to search for opportunities to play while continuing to work in the medical profession.
The speed of development in the Kingdom has been striking. Women were not permitted to attend men's football matches until 2018, yet for 2026-27 the Saudi Arabian Football Federation has organised nine women's competitions across senior and youth levels. These include the Women's Super Cup and additional tournaments for girls under 17.
FIFA has also reported on a school football programme involving approximately 50,000 girls across 3,600 schools, alongside the training of more female teachers as coaches.
Saudi Arabia's women's national team have lost only three of their last 17 matches since October 2025. Those defeats came against Egypt in two friendlies in Abha in April, by 2-1 and 2-0, and Malaysia, 1-0, in Doha on October 13. They have recorded 11 wins and three draws during that period, mainly against Asian opposition but also against several African sides.
Speaking to the Khaleej Times, Sadagah described the responsibility she feels as a Saudi player and national team captain.
“Being a female Saudi footballer and a captain is truly an honour I carry with pride. Sometimes it takes a moment to fully grasp that we’re not just witnessing change—we are living the shift. We’re part of a powerful vision that’s breaking boundaries and redefining what’s possible for women in sport. I don’t take that lightly. My role goes far beyond leading on the field—it’s about setting an example, representing progress, and hopefully inspiring young girls across the country to believe in their dreams too.”
She also believes Saudi Arabia hosting the 2034 men's World Cup could help create the conditions for a future Women's World Cup in the country.
“Hosting the World Cup is massive, not just for football, but for the country’s image, culture, and opportunities as a whole. It’ll inspire a new generation of boys and girls to dream bigger, and it will push development at every level of the game, from grassroots to pro…
“[A Women’s World Cup in Saudi Arabia] would be a dream. And honestly, it’s not as far off as it might’ve once seemed. With the way things are evolving, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it happen within the next couple of decades. It would be a proud, powerful moment.”
Sadagah also has ambitions for the national team to qualify for the Women's Asian Cup within the next decade. Saudi Arabia played its first senior women's international in 2022.
“That’s definitely a long-term goal. We made our international debut in 2022, so we’re still building—but we’re building fast. The talent is there, the hunger is real, and we have more support than ever before. I truly believe we can reach the Asian Cup within the next 7–8 years, if not sooner. But beyond that, we’re building a legacy, and that is something future generations can look back on with pride.”
Another Al-Ittihad player attracting attention away from the pitch is Farah Jefry, 23, who has one senior cap for Saudi Arabia. She spent last season on loan at relegated Eastern Flames before joining Al-Shams, who won the Second Division in 2025-26 and will play in the First Division this season.
Born in Saudi Arabia to American and Indonesian parents, Jefry has more than 600,000 Instagram followers and over 150,000 on TikTok. Her social media presence has included photographs with Lionel Messi, Karim Benzema and Aitana Bonmati, while she has become a prominent brand ambassador.
She joined Adidas as an ambassador in 2021 and became a Pepsi ambassador last year, alongside players such as Alexia Putellas, Caroline Graham Hansen and Lauren James. Her commercial partnerships have also included Visa, Subway, Nissan, Mastercard, Motorola and La Roche-Posay.
Jefry joined the Jeddah Eagles aged 15 in 2018 and led the league in scoring in 2021-22, when she was 18. The Eagles were subsequently incorporated into Al-Ittihad ahead of the first Saudi Women's Premier League season in 2022-23. She won her first and only senior cap in Saudi Arabia's first international match, a 2-0 victory over the Maldives in 2022, but has not played for the national team since.
The wider player base is also growing. Saudi Arabia now has more than 1,500 registered female players, including 940 Saudi citizens, while a report found that 70,000 women and girls played football in 2023. The Premier League is broadcast by DAZN, and the national women's programme secured its first sponsorship agreement, with Unilever, in January.
Al-Nassr
Al-Nassr have six imports, with a strong African presence. Their overseas contingent includes players from Algeria, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania, alongside representatives from Japan and Portugal.
Burkinabé defender Judicael Ouoba, 24, joined from Tanzania's Tausi FC. She previously won a league title in Burkina Faso with AO Etincelles of Ouagadougou and has also played for AS Djelgodji and Association Sportive Les Oisillons. She has 26 caps for her country.
Japanese midfielder Yuki Watari, 26, has taken an unusual route to Saudi Arabia. She attended the University of Tennessee Southern in the United States, where she won an NAIA national title, before playing for FC Juarez in Mexico in 2023-24. She scored eight goals in 22 appearances, including one play-off match.
Watari was subsequently on the books of the Tampa Bay Sun in the USL Gainbridge Super League for two seasons but did not play after suffering ACL injuries in both knees. She has also played in Japan with Urawa Red Diamonds' academy and FC Ryukyu Okinawa.
She made her Al-Nassr debut in a 5-0 victory over Syria's Al-Hilal at the West Asian Women's Clubs Championship, becoming the first Japanese woman to play for a Saudi Arabian club. However, she suffered another injury in the final of that competition.
Portuguese midfielder Andreia Faria, 26, is in her second season with Al-Nassr. She won five league titles with Benfica and was part of Portugal's squad at the 2025 Women's European Championship in Switzerland.
Al-Qadsiah
Al-Qadsiah have three Brazilian imports and one each from Colombia, France and Spain. The Spanish arrival is Esther Gonzalez, the 2023 Women's World Cup champion, whose controversial move from Gotham FC in the NWSL was covered in an earlier column.
Colombian defender Mary Alvarez, 21, joined from Atletico Nacional after three seasons with the club and a short spell at Marseille at the end of 2025-26. She has represented Colombia at several youth levels, including the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in India, where the team finished as runners-up to Spain.
Alvarez also played at the 2022 U-20 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica and the 2024 edition in Colombia. She appeared in every minute of the latter tournament and scored in a 1-0 group-stage win over Mexico, as Colombia reached the quarter-finals. She made her senior debut in 2025, appearing in a 4-1 defeat to Japan at the SheBelieves Cup.
French midfielder Lea Le Garrec, 33, is in her third season with Al-Qadsiah. She represented France at several youth levels and was part of the country's squad at the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. She also worked as a television football analyst for Canal+ during the 2019 Women's World Cup.
Al-Taraji
The newly promoted club have six imports, two from Ghana and one each from Brazil, Nigeria, Tunisia and Zambia.
Tunisian defender Wafe Messaoud, 31, has been with Al-Taraji since 2023 and has also played for several clubs in Türkiye. She led the Saudi league scoring charts with 36 goals in 2023-24, helping Al-Taraji finish second and secure promotion.
Zambian international forward Helen Chanda, 28, joined after spending last season with Eastern Flames, who were relegated. A member of Zambia's 2023 Women's World Cup squad, she has also played for clubs in Türkiye and Kazakhstan.
Al-Ula
Al-Ula's six imports come from France, Algeria, Cameroon, Jordan and Tanzania, with two players from France.
French goalkeeper Justine Lerond, 26, has played for Montpellier, Bordeaux and Metz, winning the French second-division title in 2017-18. She won the UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship with France in 2019 and was named in the tournament's team of the competition. She has also been capped by the senior national team and represented France at multiple youth levels.
Tanzanian international forward Opah Clement, 25, scored once in 24 appearances for Eibar in Liga F during 2025-26. Her career has taken her to Mexico with Juarez, China with Henan Jianye, Türkiye with Besiktas and Kayseri Kadin, and Simba Queens in Tanzania. She also played for Al-Ula last season and has scored once in the current campaign, in a 3-1 defeat to Al-Nassr on September 25.
One of the most recognisable names in the squad is French winger Amel Majri, 33, who won 82 caps and scored 13 goals for France. She spent 15 seasons with Olympique Lyon, winning 13 league titles, nine Coupe de France trophies and eight UEFA Women's Champions League titles.
Born in Tunisia, Majri joined Al-Ula in 2025. She scored her first Saudi league goal from the penalty spot on her debut against NEOM on September 19, 2025, having entered the match in the 70th minute. Last season she finished with three goals and one assist in nine appearances, six of them starts. She was also part of France's team that finished as runners-up in the inaugural UEFA Women's Nations League in 2023-24.
NEOM
NEOM, promoted after winning the First Division in 2024-25, have five imports for their second season in the top flight. They represent Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroon, Croatia, Iraq and Trinidad and Tobago.
Croatian goalkeeper Doris Bacic, 31, moved from Lazio in Italy. Her career has taken her across Europe, including spells in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, England and Croatia. She won three league titles with Juventus and has made 69 senior appearances for Croatia since her debut in 2011.
Iraqi forward Shokhan Nooraldin, 26, has represented her country in football, futsal and handball. She joined Al-Hilal in 2022-23 and finished her first Saudi season as the league's leading scorer with 43 goals, 26 more than second-placed Ibtisam Jraidi.
Nooraldin scored 15 goals for Al-Hilal in an 18-0 win over Sama on November 10, 2022, a record for the most goals scored by one player in a top-tier women's league. From Kirkuk in northern Iraq, she is now in her first season with NEOM.
Coaches and the international make-up of the league
The 2026-27 league coaches include five from Europe, with two from Portugal and one each from France, Iceland and Spain. The other nationalities represented are Jamaica, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Jamaican coach Giles Barnes joined Al-Qadsiah from the Orlando Pride in the NWSL. Born and raised in England, he played professionally in England, the United States, Mexico and India. He represented England at youth level before playing for Jamaica's senior team through his grandparents.
Al-Nassr's Abdulaziz al-Alwni, 37, has won five league titles coaching women's teams in Saudi Arabia. Four came with Al-Nassr between 2022-23 and last season, while he previously won the 2021-22 SAFF Women's National Football Championship with Al-Mamlaka. He also represented Saudi Arabia in futsal. Al-Alwni does not yet hold the full coaching licences required to be registered as the team's official coach, so another member of staff is listed in that role.
Across the league, there are 47 imports from 28 countries, compared with 46 from 21 countries in 2025-26. The previous season's total was already down from 60 imports representing 28 countries in 2024-25, when the league had eight teams.
Brazil leads the current list with six players, followed by Nigeria with five. Algeria, France and Ghana each have three, while Cameroon, DR Congo, Spain and Tanzania have two apiece. The remaining imports come from Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Colombia, Croatia, the Dominican Republic, England, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Morocco, Paraguay, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia and Zambia.
The league's international recruitment remains one of the most distinctive aspects of its development, bringing players from several continents into a competition that is still establishing its domestic foundations.
Al-Nassr win the 2026 West Asian Women's Clubs Championship
Al-Nassr claimed their first West Asian Women's Clubs Championship title with a 4-0 victory over Syria's Al-Hilal in the final at Prince Mohammed Stadium in Zarqa, Jordan.
The tournament ran from July 28 to August 5 and was the third edition of the competition organised by the West Asian Football Federation. It had originally been scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia in November 2024 but was postponed because of security concerns following the 2024 Iran-Israel conflict before being moved to Jordan.
Six clubs took part: Naft Al-Shamal of Iraq, Etihad of Jordan, Beirut Football Academy of Lebanon, Al-Nassr of Saudi Arabia, Al-Hilal of Syria and Banaat of the United Arab Emirates.
Group A was unusually tight, with Banaat, Etihad and Beirut Football Academy all finishing with three points. Banaat advanced on goal difference at +3, with Etihad also progressing on a level goal difference, while Beirut Football Academy finished on -3.
Al-Nassr topped Group B with six points. Al-Hilal and Naft Al-Shamal both finished with one point, but the Syrian side advanced with the better goal difference, despite both clubs recording negative figures.
Al-Hilal then defeated Banaat 2-1 in the semi-finals, with Syrian international Mia Al-Jany, 20, scoring twice. Al-Nassr beat Jordan's Etihad 3-0 to set up the final.
The Saudi club won the title 4-0, with braces from Tanzanian international Clara Luvanga and Bahrain international Hessa Allsa.
Al-Nassr dominated the individual scoring awards. Luvanga, 21, finished as the tournament's leading scorer with seven goals. She joined the Washington Spirit in the NWSL on September 9 after three seasons in Saudi Arabia.
Allsa, 31, who represents Bahrain in both football and futsal, scored five times to finish second. Portuguese international Andreia Faria was third with three goals.
The Best Player Award went to Al-Nassr midfielder Nesrine Bahlouli, 23. She grew up in France and represented the country at several youth levels before choosing to play for Algeria internationally this year. She joined Al-Nassr in 2024-25 after spells with Lyon and AC Milan, including a loan at Bordeaux in 2023-24.
Al-Nassr goalkeeper Mona Abdulrahman, 30, received the Best Goalkeeper Award. A Saudi Arabia international, she is in her second season with the club after previously playing for Al-Hilal and Al-Shabab.
The earlier editions were won by Lebanon's Safa in 2022, who defeated Jordan's Orthodox Club, and Jordan's Shabab Al-Ordon in 2019, when five teams participated.
Al-Nassr retain the Saudi Women's Super Cup
Al-Nassr also won the second edition of the Saudi Women's Super Cup, held in Taif from September 1-5, 2026.
The four-team competition featured Al-Nassr, who had won the 2025-26 Premier League and Saudi Women's Cup; Al-Ahli, the league runners-up; Al-Hilal, the Saudi Cup runners-up after Al-Nassr completed the domestic double; and Al-Ittihad, who finished third in the league.
Al-Nassr defeated Al-Ahli 5-2 in the semi-finals, while Al-Hilal edged Al-Ittihad 2-1. The final ended with Al-Nassr winning 2-0 to secure the trophy.
They had also won the inaugural competition in September 2025, beating Al-Ahli 2-0 in the final in Riyadh. Al-Qadsiah and Al-Ula were the other participants in that first edition, both losing in the semi-finals.
African qualifying for the 2028 Olympic Games
The second round of African qualifying for the 2028 Olympic Games took place during the October FIFA international window, with 32 teams involved in 16 two-legged ties between October 8 and 13.
South Africa advanced comfortably against Madagascar, winning 4-0 and 3-0 for a 7-0 aggregate victory. Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis brought in veteran forward Thembi Kgatlana from Mexican club UANL Tigres, where she had scored ten goals in nine appearances during the 2026-27 Apertura.
Both matches were played at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein. Ronnel Donnelly, 22, scored a hat-trick in the first leg and added two more in the second. She played for the University of the Western Cape before joining Mamelodi Sundowns in 2025.
Of the 24 players selected by Ellis, 19 were based in South Africa and five played abroad: two in Mexico and one each in Denmark, Saudi Arabia and Scotland.
Elsewhere, Senegal eliminated Tunisia 3-0 on aggregate, winning 1-0 and 2-0. Mali recovered from a 3-1 first-leg defeat to Benin to win the return 6-2 and progress 7-5 overall.
The Benin forward Ramaine Gandonou, just 15, was one of the standout players in that tie. She scored twice in the first 16 minutes of the opening match in Lomé, Togo, and added another brace in Bamako in the second leg.
Gandonou had already established herself as a prolific scorer at home. In 2023-24, she helped her club win promotion from Benin's second division and finished as the league's leading scorer with 53 goals in 14 matches. She followed that with 19 goals in 15 appearances in the top division in 2024-25, again finishing as the leading scorer and being named the league's best player.
A Benin youth international, she has five goals in five senior appearances and was first called into camp aged 14. She also had a trial with Paris Saint-Germain in France in May.
Her efforts were not enough to keep Benin in the competition. Mali's Agueissa Diarra, 28, scored twice in the second leg, including a penalty four minutes from time, as Mali overturned the deficit. Diarra has scored 31 goals in 38 senior appearances for Mali since her debut in 2018. She spent the last two seasons with Paris Saint-Germain, although her playing time was limited, after previously representing several clubs in Morocco and Mali.
The other second-round results saw Morocco advance over Congo by walkover, Nigeria defeat Comoros 7-0 on aggregate, Cameroon progress over Guinea by walkover, and Ivory Coast beat DR Congo 7-1. Algeria won 15-0 overall against the Central African Republic, while Burkina Faso eliminated Equatorial Guinea 4-2.
Ethiopia edged Rwanda 2-1 on aggregate, Tanzania defeated Botswana 7-0, Angola beat Namibia 2-0, and Kenya recorded a 22-0 aggregate victory over Seychelles. Malawi progressed 9-0 against Zimbabwe, Ghana beat Mauritius 10-0, and Zambia defeated Uganda 5-3 after recovering from a 2-1 first-leg loss.
The Zambia-Uganda tie had consequences for several players based in the United States. Three Copper Queens players under contract with NWSL clubs were unable to return immediately after the matches because of Ebola-related travel restrictions. The US Centers for Disease Control required travellers returning from Uganda and DR Congo to quarantine for 21 days following the outbreak.
The affected players were Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda, Chicago Stars forward Racheal Kundananji and Angel City FC forward Prisca Chilufya. All three played in both legs against Uganda. Zambia lost the first match 2-1 but won 4-1 at home, with Banda scoring twice in the second leg. Chilufya had scored Zambia's only goal in the opening defeat.
The NWSL said it was “working with its clubs and U.S. immigration to ensure the players’ safe return”, adding that “all players are in excellent health”. The restrictions were expected to lift around October 30, depending on when the national team left Uganda after the October 8 match. The final day of the NWSL regular season was November 1.
The timing was particularly significant for the three clubs. Banda had scored 17 goals in 23 appearances and was second in the 2026 NWSL Golden Boot race, three behind North Carolina Courage's Ashley Sanchez. However, Orlando missed the play-offs after a difficult season that included the departure of head coach Seb Hines in early September.
Kundananji had been traded from Bay FC to the Chicago Stars late in the season. Chicago were bottom of the 16-team league and looking towards a rebuild for 2027.
Chilufya's Angel City were in much better form. An unbeaten run of nine matches, including seven wins and two draws since August 31, secured only the club's second play-off appearance in five seasons. She was expected to be cleared in time for the post-season.
The situation recalled an earlier episode in 2025, when Zambia prevented four NWSL-based players from travelling to China for friendlies because of concerns about changing US policies affecting foreign nationals and their ability to re-enter the country. The three players affected in 2026, along with Grace Chanda, had originally been selected for those matches. Chanda was then with Orlando Pride but now plays for Queretaro in Mexico.
Ivory Coast also had to consider the impact of the travel restrictions. The national team travelled to DR Congo for the first match of its qualifying tie, but Washington Spirit forward Rosemonde Kouassi did not make the trip.
A Washington Spirit spokesperson told The Athletic that the club had not released Kouassi specifically to avoid the expected quarantine requirements upon her return to the United States. The club worked with Ivory Coast officials to ensure that the player followed the necessary precautions, including rooming alone or only with someone who had not travelled to DR Congo for the first leg.
Washington Spirit President of Soccer Operations Haley Carter has considerable experience in international football matters. She previously worked with the Orlando Pride, where she brought Banda to the club, and was also once a volunteer assistant coach with the Afghanistan women's national team. Her involvement may have helped shape the arrangements that allowed Kouassi to avoid missing NWSL matches.
The first round of Olympic qualifying had taken place in June. Comoros defeated Sudan 30-0 on aggregate, winning the two legs 17-0 and 13-0. Madagascar eliminated South Sudan 2-1, while Mauritius beat Djibouti 3-1.
The third round, scheduled for late February and early March 2027, will involve the 16 second-round winners. The ties are Senegal against Mali, Morocco against Nigeria, Cameroon against Ivory Coast, Algeria against Burkina Faso, Ethiopia against Tanzania, Angola against South Africa, Kenya against Malawi, and Zambia against Ghana.
The fourth round will be the quarter-finals in October 2027, followed by the fifth round involving the four remaining teams in late November and early December. The two winners will qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games women's football tournament in the United States.
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