Not Only on
the Sidelines

Reforms in Saudi Arabia

In Saudi Arabia, many societal and legal changes are underway. These changes, part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan, are motivated by many factors, including the nation’s need for economic diversification and expansion, specifically reducing the country’s economic dependence on oil. According to the 2030 plan put forth, the next step for Saudi Arabia is to create a more outward-facing economy by bridging the gap with the West. A critical, yet often underestimated, pillar of this diversification is aggressive investment in sports and entertainment.

Another significant part of the economic changes Saudi Arabia is aiming to achieve is the workforce. A dramatic transformation is taking place to reduce unemployment and reliance on expatriate labor. Nevertheless, for substantial change to happen, women also have to be part of the workforce. Thus, they, too, have become a driving force in Saudi Arabia’s changing landscape and efforts to diversify and expand its economy.

The influx of women in Saudi Arabia’s workforce is reshaping the corporate landscape, backed by legal reforms that allow Saudi women to navigate their careers with autonomy.

Gaining Control

Saudi women today have more freedom than ever before. As explained by former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney, "Saudi women now have more control over their lives, than at any point since the founding of the modern Saudi state," but they have a long way to go towards social liberation. A central goal for many women living in Saudi Arabia is to achieve equality. This change was largely credited in the west to the government, following the introduction of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan to transform the country.

It's undeniable that these changes were also driven by a long history of women demanding their rights from the government. Human rights groups and activists continue to work toward advancing the position of women in Saudi society. A significant wage gap remains prevalent as women are still largely underpaid in many positions they are now filling within the workforce. All of these factors are shaping a new Saudi Arabia, with women at the forefront of this transformation, as the Saudi national identity is actively being reformed through women’s emancipation. 

Sports as a Driver of Change 

One of the most important pillars of Saudi Vision 2030 is sports and entertainment, a focus that aims address issues such as job creation, social engagement, and obesity. Obesity represents a significant public health challenge in Saudi Arabia, which ranks 17th in the world with an adult obesity rate of 38.13 percent, according to data from the World Obesity Federation. The government’s approach in Saudi Vision 2030 is to develop an entire athletic ecosystem from the ground up. As Ambassador Ratney notes, the government’s goal is behavioral as much as it is economic: “They’ll tell you that what they’re trying to do is inspire young Saudis... to get outside, to play sports.”

Just as women could not be excluded from the workforce if Saudi Arabia was to achieve economic expansion, they likewise could not be left out of the sports sector. Their inclusion is essential to achieving the broader economic and social objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.

Changes on the Home Field

For many years, the Saudi government placed strict limits on women’s participation in public activities, including sports, and restricted their freedom to travel abroad. But the situation started to change in 2012, ahead of the Olympic Games in London, when Saudi Arabia announced that women would be permitted to participate in the Olympics for the first time. Since then, the Saudi government has overturned many other laws restricting women’s rights, such as the participation of women in physical education in public schools.

In 2017, the launch of Saudi Vision 2030 introduced more opportunities for women in sports, including expanding access, building institutions, funding facilities, and creating pathways from school sport to international competition. In an interview with ESPN, Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, a member of the Saudi royal family and Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, summed up the broader strategy behind women’s sports, stating her “goal is to have as many young women feel that that dream is theirs.”

Another important reform that has facilitated women’s participation in sports was lifting travel restrictions. For women to participate in sporting events, they needed the ability to travel abroad. The loosening of the male guardianship travel restrictions starting in 2019 allowed women to travel abroad for competitions and sporting events without requiring permission.

This remarkable rise in women’s participation in sports reflects broader social changes and national efforts to promote inclusivity and active lifestyles. From 2020, there has been a 39 percent increase in participation in fitness and a 25 percent increase in female members in gym facilities among 18- to 23-year-olds. Everyday participation in sports has also grown, with 64 percent of men and 36 percent of women participating in sports. These figures suggest that sports are becoming a part of everyday life for young women, not just an announced reform.

Global Corporate Sponsorships

Women’s sports are expanding, and so is the market around them. Sports are undoubtedly a formidable investment engine. But participation does not scale on enthusiasm alone. It also needs infrastructure, funding, and, increasingly, corporate sponsorship. International brands that already back women’s sport globally, including Rexona, Lay’s, and PepsiCo, have also shown interest in Saudi women’s sports.

The new three-year agreement between the Saudi Arabian Football Federation and Rexona is a telling milestone. It is the first time Saudi Arabia’s women’s national football program has secured an official partner across all levels. More importantly, it signals how quickly women’s football in the kingdom is being plugged into the global sponsorship ecosystem.

Rexona is not a local newcomer testing the waters, but an established backer of women’s football internationally, with a visible presence around FIFA and the Women’s World Cup in recent years. Saudi women’s sport is no longer developing in isolation. It is being branded, financed, and legitimized through the same commercial networks that shape the women’s game worldwide.

Sephora Middle East has partnered with the Al-Nassr women’s football team as the team’s beauty sponsor. This new category of sponsorship currently includes only two female teams, the other being a U.S. softball team. The partnership is striking not only because it reveals how Saudi women’s sports are being packaged for commercial growth through lifestyle branding—the partnership targets a female consumer base, offers companies a “safe” entry point into the market, and reframes female athletes less as a niche sporting project and more as a mainstream platform for visibility, identity, and spending power.

This commercial turn also reshapes what athletic careers can look like for Saudi women. Athletes such as Yara Abuljadayel have described this shift in personal terms: “Here I am today, I’m sponsored by Adidas. Never did I think that would happen to me.” The sponsorship economy has quickly entered women’s sports in the country, changing both expectations and professional horizons.

Women Racing Ahead

In recent years, numerous Saudi women competing as professional athletes gained recognition through their achievements and expanded their influence by building strong online presences. They have taken control of how their athletic identity is seen and narrated, pushing back against the international stereotype of Saudi women as absent from public life. They have reshaped how global audiences understand Saudi women’s role in professional sports and, by extension, in Saudi society.

A notable example is Mashael Al-Obaidan, the first woman in Saudi Arabia to obtain a rally racing license. After getting her master’s in the United States, she returned home and pursued a career with almost no precedent for Saudi women, becoming the country’s first female rally driver and competing internationally. Her visibility did not stop at sports competitions. It also allowed her access to foreign diplomats and companies, turning her into a recognizable figure in Saudi Arabia’s evolving public image.

In a video conversation with U.S. Ambassador Michael Ratney, Ambassador Ratney described Al-Obaidan as “the hero of Saudi sports” and “the intersection of the social change . . . [and] a brand new national identity for Saudi Arabia,” while acknowledging that the country “has long suffered from a very negative image . . . for very good reasons.”

Bridging the Gaps

Stories like Al-Obaidan’s play an important role in showcasing recent progress but also in creating diplomatic pathways for Saudi Arabia that politics alone cannot. Reflecting on his work on U.S.-Saudi sports partnerships, Ambassador Radney said, “the Saudi government loved the idea that even the United States was starting to recognize them as a country that wasn’t just . . . an exporter of oil and a place where women couldn’t drive.”

The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia, partnered with ESPN and Georgetown University, has sports mentoring programs for emerging women leaders from around the world, such as the Women Innovators Fellowship (WIN), which includes workshops led by experts focused on fostering policies to bolster women's economic participation. Beyond skills-building, these programs function as a form of sports diplomacy; they bring Saudi women into U.S. professional networks, expose them to global sports governance and sponsorship cultures, and help them return home with relationships that can translate into concrete opportunities.

Sportswashing?

Despite the advances in public diplomacy that Saudi Arabia’s sports partnerships have created, the country has not avoided controversy. For example, in 2023, FIFA cancelled Saudi Arabia’s sponsorship for the 2023 Women’s World Cup due to allegations that the country had undermined the protection of women’s rights and that advocates were being punished and suppressed.

Leveraging a global mega-event such as the Women’s World Cup would inevitably place Saudi Arabia under intense international scrutiny, not only for sport but for politics and rights. This is where the debate over “sportswashing” becomes central.

Critics argue that Saudi Arabia’s growing footprint in sport, including women’s sport, functions as a reputational strategy built around visibility, spectacle, and global audiences. Others contend that reducing these policies to distraction misses the point, as the kingdom is fully aware that sports do not silence criticism but often amplify attention by attracting journalists, activists, and international institutions. U.S. Ambassador Michael Ratney explained that “Saudi Arabians know that their actions are drawing attention, and it seems like an oxymoron to try to use sports as a way to distract public attention.”

While investments in women’s sports have occasionally been framed as soft-power strategies, they have also produced tangible positive outcomes, particularly by elevating the visibility of Saudi female athletes. Despite these positive outcomes, questions about underlying motives remain.

Measuring Progress

Despite international claims of sportswashing, some indicators show that progress is being made for Saudi women, such as increased workforce participation, involvement in sports on all levels, and higher levels of legal and social independence.

Saudi Arabia’s UN Gender Inequality Index score has improved significantly over time. Several Gulf countries have also recorded rapid gains, highlighting a broader pattern of accelerated change in the region. In addition, the pace of improvement in Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbors has been striking compared to the slower shifts observed in other parts of the world. At the same time, progress in rankings and indicators does not eliminate ongoing concerns. International scrutiny and criticism persist, particularly regarding the limits that still shape women’s rights and political freedoms.