Women’s football worldwide is gaining popularity at an unbelievable speed. This summer, Australia and New Zealand witnessed the most successful FIFA Women’s World Cup ever, ending with Spain lifting the trophy.

The wheels continue.

The European seasons began, the UEFA Nations League officially kicked off for the first time in history, and on October 13, the football season is set to start in a yet unfamiliar “theatre of women’s football”, in Saudi Arabia.

The rapid progress seen in men’s football in the kingdom is also now being noticed in women's football. however, when it comes to women’s football, it’s a start-from-scratch business.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the upcoming 2023/2024 season.

The defending champions, Al-Nassr, will be looking to defend their trophy and keep it in Riyadh but will have to double their efforts as the race for this year’s edition looks quite interesting. The intriguingly renewed Al-Ittihad are the team to beat this season after strengthening their squad with worldwide signings.

Al-Hilal, last year’s runners-up is also up for the challenge. Al-Shabab, Eastern Flames, Al-Riyadh, Al-Qadisiyah, and Al-Ahli complete the 8-teams league.

Al-Ittihad surely stole this transfer window’s spotlight when announcing the signing of former Leicester City player, Ashleigh Plumptre. Despite interests from the likes of Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain, the 25-year-old Nigerian defender chose the Kingdom as the destination of her upcoming challenge.

She is joined by Morocco’s star Salma Amani, the Swedish attacker Nor Mustafa who had a spell at West Ham, as well as Liverpool’s former defender Leighanne Robe.

And to add some spice to this mix of recruits, Al-Ittihad’s coaching staff screams experience. Former USWNT international Kelly Lindsey is the Jeddah team’s Head Coach and she is joined by Myles Smith, Dan Smith, and Simone Conley.

Lineth Cedeno, the Panamian international, signed with Al-Hilal while Eastern Flames straightened their squad by signing Pakistan’s captain Maria Khan, Erica Cunningham, and Tochukwu Oluehi.

Al-Shabab sealed the signing of another Nigerian international, Rita Chikwelu, as well as the former Rayo Vallecano scorer, the Venezuelan international Oriana Altuve.

Ahead of the 2023/2024 Saudi Women’s Premier League, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation has announced snack brand Lay’s as its first headline sponsor for their women’s league, as the representatives signed a deal with Pepsi Co., the head company.

This sponsorship deal marks a new era in the Kingdom as it has officially become the largest sponsorship deal in Saudi women’s sports.

In the press conference to announce the partnership, Lamia Bahaian, the vice president of the SAFF, said, “Our partnership with Lay’s for the Saudi Women’s Football League is a testament to the growing support and recognition of women’s sports in Saudi Arabia.”

Bahaian considers this new deal as “a significant step forward in achieving our objectives to nurture and showcase the incredible talent of female footballers in our nation.”

Over the years, women’s football has struggled to get the media recognition it deserves.

However, the Women’s department at the Saudi Arabian Football Federation decided to take matters into their own hands by giving their female footballers the visibility.

For the 2023/2024 season, the entire season will be broadcast on TV in Saudi Arabia for the first time, guaranteeing a bigger and wider reach.