Muscat: The Oman women’s team is set to make history on the green lawn of football fields. The country’s first women’s national football team was unveiled at a colorful ceremony at the Al Bustan Palace at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel yesterday. The formation of the team is the result of the hard work of the Oman Football Association (OFA) and the girls over the years.
The team, which was formed for the first time in history, has selected 18 players from the best football clubs across Oman. The team’s first tournament will be held in Saudi Arabia next month. “Our dream is to play in the World Cup,” said Lujaina Mohsin Darwish, a board member of the Oman Football Association, at the team’s official launch. But they know it will take time, and the team’s evolution needs to move forward step by step, she said. When Lujaina was elected to the OFA board in August last year, plans were made to form a women’s team. Soon after, a football tournament was organized with the participation of 14 women’s teams from 50 clubs in Oman to find the best players and form the national team. 40 players were shortlisted from the participating teams. Out of these, a national team of 18 has been formed. The team will return to Italy in June for further preparations after training in Oman and three friendly matches. From here he will travel to Saudi Arabia to participate in the Asian level tournament. Lujaina thanked the Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs, Syed Thyasin bin Haitham Al Saeed for his efforts to promote and develop football and other sports in the country. She added that the Oman Football Association was one of the main beneficiaries of Syed Theaz’s interest in focusing more on Oman’s sports. “My father was a former player on the Oman national youth team, so I learned from him about the importance of representing the country,” said Afra Al Mahrooqi, who plays as an attacking midfielder for the national team.
I have been playing football since I was a child. Representing Oman was a dream come true and now it has become a reality, said goalkeeper Husna al-Musawi. Al-Musawi said he was happy to represent the country and be part of the first Omani women’s national football team.