Saudi Women's Football: Nadeen Kaaki's Road Back

From Jeddah Pride to a national-team ambition

Kaaki, full name Nadeen Osama Kaaki and born on 1 January 2005, started playing organised football in 2020, and she has said she still cannot describe how happy she was to learn there was football for girls in Saudi Arabia. Her club journey reads like a map of the new league itself: third place with Jeddah Pride in the 2022-2023 First Division, a move to Al-Wehda, a first professional contract with Al-Ittihad in the Women's Premier League, a spell with Jeddah, and a switch to Al-Himmah in 2025.

Along the way she was called up to Saudi Arabia's U-20 women's national team, joining the first roster in December 2023 under Scottish coach Pauline Hamill. In 2026 she completed her AFC Women's D Coaching License. Her stated goals now are simple: get back to the Premier League and play for the senior national side.

A league built in record time

Her rise sits inside a much bigger change. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation announced the first women's national team in 2021 and appointed Monika Staab as head coach that August. The team made its debut on 20 February 2022, beating Seychelles 2-0 in a friendly tournament in Male, in the Maldives. Months later, on 15 September 2022, the Saudi Women's First Division League was founded with 17 teams across three regions, and youth age groups, U-20, U-17, U-15 and U-13, have been added since. For a young player today, that means there is finally a genuine ladder to climb.

What it actually takes to play

Watching a match, it is easy to miss how much conditioning sits under 90 minutes of football. The game is built on repeated high-intensity sprints, sharp changes of direction, and the aerobic base to keep doing both until the final whistle. That is why elite players spend far more time in the gym than most fans realise, and why the same work helps an amateur enjoy the game and stay injury-free in it.

The four things every footballer trains

• An aerobic engine so you can last a full match. Steady runs and interval work build it, and our HIIT sessions deliver exactly that repeatable intensity.
• Speed and agility, meaning short sprints, stops and turns trained on purpose rather than left to chance.
• Lower-body and core strength, because strong legs and a stable trunk protect the knees and ankles the game punishes most. Our personal trainers map this out every day.
• Clean technique before heavy load. If you are new to lifting, the exercise library is a calm place to learn the basics.

How to start, even if you have never kicked a ball

You do not need a club contract to begin. Build a base of fitness first, get comfortable moving, sprinting and lifting, then find a five-a-side group, an academy session or a community team. Saudi Arabia now has all three, and many sessions welcome complete beginners. Training in a ladies-only space can make those first weeks far more comfortable while you find your feet.

Take your first step with GymNation

Nadeen Kaaki's story started with a single decision to show up. If watching Saudi women's football has you itching to try, come do the groundwork with us: grab a free day pass and use it to build the engine, strength and confidence the game asks for.

Sources:
arabnews.com
en.wikipedia.org
cnn.com

The opinions shared in the GymNation blog articles are solely those of the respective authors and may not represent the perspectives of GymNation or any member of the GymNation team.