SFA Managing Director takes part in Peace and Sport International Forum in Monaco

The Saudi Sports for All Federation (SFA) has underlined the importance of empowering more women across the Kingdom to take part in daily sports and physical activities. Attending the 2022 Peace and Sport International Forum, SFA Managing Director, Shaima Saleh Al-Husseini, reiterated the Federation’s commitment to increasing female participation in the Kingdom’s sports programs. 

Held in Monaco — on November 30, 2022 — this year’s edition of the Peace and Sport International Forum brought experts, leaders, and sports stars from around the world together to make the most of sport as a lever for peace. 

Representing SFA — alongside SFA President, HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud — Shaima Saleh Al-Husseini participated in a panel discussion titled “Sport as a vector for gender equality”. She delivered a speech spotlighting SFA’s success in increasing women's participation in Saudi sport programs from 24% to 38%. 

In doing so, she emphasized the importance of equipping women with the tools to take part in sport-based programs, sport competitions and sport-related occupations. She stressed that this is vital to nations’ social development and inclusivity.

She said: “Over the past few years, we have worked on launching and developing national regulations in cooperation with several government entities, including the Ministry of Education, to outline a plan for establishing physical education classes for female students. This is an important step that will help to improve women's participation in sport activities across the Kingdom and create equal opportunities for both sexes.”

She continued: “To this end, we have also designed a diverse range of programs and curated special events that cater to women and girls, offering access to provisions and resources that enable them to lead active and healthy lives. We have done all of this in addition to launching and adopting a varied selection of sport-focused initiatives in several cities across the Kingdom, as well as granting licenses to open new gyms.”

She added: “All in all, SFA is fully committed to providing safe, modern and well-appointed spaces for women to practice sports. As part of this commitment, we have launched more than 500 sports facilities in recent years, including our new SFA Dome in Dammam: a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose venue that provides more facilities for individuals and community sports groups to take part in a range of fitness-focused and physical activities.”

In line with SFA’s goals, the Federation’s participation in the 2022 Peace and Sport International Forum marks the latest step taken by the organization to transform the Kingdom into a world-class sports hub. Fully aligned with Vision 2030 and the Quality of Life Program, SFA aims to raise physical activity levels in the Kingdom.