Three football matches in Saudi Arabia will "welcome female supporters for the first time as the ban on their attendance at sporting events ends this weekend," according to ARABIAN BUSINESS. Special sections "will be open for women" to attend the matches between Al Ahli and Al Batin (Friday) and Al Hilal and Al Ittihad (Saturday) in Round 17 of the Saudi Professional League and then Al Ittifaq and Al Faisali (Jan. 18) in Round 18. The lifting of the ban was announced on Oct. 29, one month after the prohibition on women driving was rescinded, and the 11 weeks since "have been spent preparing the three stadia for the change." King Fahd Int'l Stadium in Riyadh, King Abdullah Stadium in Jeddah and Prince Mohammad bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam have all been approved by the Saudi General Sports Authority (ARABIAN BUSINESS, 1/7). In London, Sara Malm reported Saudi Arabia, which has some of the "world's tightest restrictions on women," has "long barred women from sports arenas by strict rules on segregation of the sexes in public." Under the kingdom's existing guardianship system, a male family member -- normally the father, husband or brother -- "must grant permission for a women's study, travel and a host of other activities." The "erasing of social controls" comes as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks to "repackage the oil-rich nation as more moderate and welcoming" (DAILY MAIL, 1/8).
