{"id":4518,"date":"2024-06-14T15:27:51","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T05:57:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/?p=4518"},"modified":"2026-08-17T11:15:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T01:45:49","slug":"how-banaat-fc-is-changing-the-face-of-womens-football-in-the-uae","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/how-banaat-fc-is-changing-the-face-of-womens-football-in-the-uae\/","title":{"rendered":"How Banaat FC is changing the face of women&#8217;s football in the UAE"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 id=\"in-the-united-arab-emirates-august-28-is-emirati-women-s-day-a-chance-to-celebrate-the-increasingly-significant-role-women-are-playing-in-emirati-society\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">In the United Arab Emirates, August 28 is Emirati Women\u2019s Day, a chance to celebrate the increasingly significant role women are playing in Emirati society.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Budreya Faisal, a pioneering business and football marketing executive from Dubai, the day now also carries extra significance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s the day she launched her latest passion project, one she hopes will be looked upon in years to come as a defining moment in helping drive cultural change in the conservative country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s the day she launched a football club. And not just any football club, but a women\u2019s football club, in a country where women\u2019s football remains very much on the fringes, largely unaccepted by general society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her inspiration came from where we spend so much of our modern lives &#8211; on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019ve all had the moment where we look at a football club, usually the one we support, don\u2019t like what we see and think: \u201cI could do better than that!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For most of us, the idea of owning a football club remains in the realms of pure fantasy, with an epic Football Manager save the closest most will venture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But not Faisal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A business and football marketing executive from Dubai, she was travelling back from Egypt, where she was working on a new campaign for Egyptian giants Al Ahly, and was scrolling through social media, as you do, and spotted something that caught her eye, but for all the wrong reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"BANAAT FC: &quot;We&amp;apos;re here to light a fire under everybody!&quot; #yallabanaat\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/deY_8l7CUzM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOn my way back, a social media post popped up from a Saudi club that looked very, very outdated,\u201d she explained, \u201cnot like something you would post in 2024, I&#8217;m talking about format, not so much the content, although that was also somewhat questionable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut it just could have looked so much better, considering the amount of money that&#8217;s in football here, and it got me frustrated. And I was so used to being frustrated with how things are done and then doing something about it, but it was always in the service industry, because I&#8217;m a consultant in marketing and football strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis time, I thought, instead of getting upset, like I always do, and offering a service, let me try and do something about it, and create something that would become the benchmark for Arab football representation\u2026 in a very humble, humble way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She continued: \u201cSo I came back to Dubai, went to the office the next day, and saw something on women&#8217;s football here (in UAE) popped up and I noticed how no club, none of the women&#8217;s clubs, had an Arabic name, and that immediately stood out, how there was a lack of representation in our culture and in our football here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c(So) that&#8217;s when I decided that I was going to remedy my frustration over a certain club\u2019s social media post by creating a women&#8217;s football club that actually offers that representation and supports an industry that desperately needed attention, and that was Banaat FC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnd \u2018Banaat\u2019 was the first word that came to mind. It&#8217;s a very simple word; it means \u2018girls\u2019 in Arabic. And that was that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Within a month, Banaat FC was launched, bringing fresh energy to the Emirates fledgling women\u2019s football scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/BFC2.jpg?resize=819%2C1024&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4528\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/BFC2.jpg?resize=819%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 819w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/BFC2.jpg?resize=240%2C300&amp;ssl=1 240w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/BFC2.jpg?resize=768%2C960&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/BFC2.jpg?w=1080&amp;ssl=1 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Faisal didn\u2019t want Banaat to be just any club, she wanted to push boundaries and challenge the status quo in conservative UAE, and that means probably breaking a few eggs along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their club motto says it all: Rise. Represent. Reclaim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI didn&#8217;t just create this club to add another club to the list that exists around here that people don&#8217;t really know much about,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI&#8217;m trying to do something here to better the industry and to do that, I needed to change the perception of women&#8217;s football here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI&#8217;m talking from a cultural viewpoint. Emirati households, in general, are a lot more traditional than people would think, even more so than Saudi (Arabia), and the general, wider opinion is that this is a male sport and should remain a male sport exclusively.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The support she has received from the football community, however, has been overwhelming. But while one UAE Pro League club offered up its facilities for the team to train on, for Faisal it only highlighted a gaping hole when it comes to women\u2019s football in the Emirates, something she is determined to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen we moved out of the Federation for our training, we got support from Al Nasr Football Club, and they sponsored our training pitch for the rest of the season,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhich was amazing considering all the clubs here don&#8217;t have women&#8217;s teams. I&#8217;m talking about the Pro League clubs. None of them have women&#8217;s football teams, which is quite sad, but I know that&#8217;s going to change very soon. It has to, which is why we&#8217;re doing what we&#8217;re doing again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe&#8217;re here to kind of light a fire under everybody, to get moving (and) do something, because the world&#8217;s interested. The brands are interested. So at least get on board for those reasons, for commercial reasons, if anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/BFC6.jpg?resize=819%2C1024&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4524\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/BFC6.jpg?resize=819%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 819w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/BFC6.jpg?resize=240%2C300&amp;ssl=1 240w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/BFC6.jpg?resize=768%2C960&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/BFC6.jpg?w=1080&amp;ssl=1 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Banaat are living proof of that commercial interest, with TikTok joining the club as it\u2019s primary sponsor, the first time any UAE women\u2019s team has had a front of shirt sponsor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s all part of Faisal\u2019s bigger vision towards full-time professionalism, which includes properly playing the players and developing dedicated facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI want them to have the best of everything,\u201d Faisal said, \u201cbut we don&#8217;t have a developed industry or league yet for them to be able to ever think of themselves, I think, as a professional footballers making it and making the money\u2026 not yet, hopefully it&#8217;s something I&#8217;m planning to change very soon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking with Faisal it\u2019s clear she is impatient for change. As the rest of the world turbocharges its investment into women\u2019s football, she doesn\u2019t want the UAE, or the wider Gulf region, to get left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s why the advent of the AFC Women\u2019s Champions League, and the AFC\u2019s confirmation of $1.3 million in prize money for the champions, is so significant. It\u2019s already the target for Banaat as they head into their second season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOh you know that\u2019s the plan for us now,\u201d she exclaimed when asked about the importance of that tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt&#8217;s on paper already, that&#8217;s something we&#8217;re working towards. It&#8217;s going to take a lot more for us to get there as a club, as an organisation, because we still need to learn about what what does it take to actually play in the Champions League, (but) we&#8217;re building towards it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next Emirati Women\u2019s Day is still over two months away, but when it comes it\u2019ll be a double celebration for Faisal and her team. Having already achieved so much, she has just one simple message for what the future holds for Banaat FC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWatch this space!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Listen to Episode 224 of <strong>The Asian Game Podcast<\/strong> as we go In Conversation With&#8230; Budreya Faisal<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Embed Player\" style=\"border:none\" src=\"https:\/\/play.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/31743927\/height\/128\/theme\/modern\/size\/standard\/thumbnail\/yes\/custom-color\/c7b6fd\/time-start\/00:00:00\/playlist-height\/200\/direction\/backward\/download\/yes\/font-color\/201d28\" height=\"128\" width=\"100%\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"true\" mozallowfullscreen=\"true\" oallowfullscreen=\"true\" msallowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the United Arab Emirates, August 28 is Emirati Women\u2019s Day, a chance to celebrate the increasingly significant role women are playing in Emirati society. For Budreya Faisal, a pioneering business and football marketing executive from Dubai, the day now also carries extra significance. It\u2019s the day she launched her latest passion project, one she [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4526,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_gspb_post_css":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[435,437,92,212],"class_list":["post-4518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","tag-afc-womens-champions-league","tag-banaat-fc","tag-uae","tag-womens-football"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Banaat FC is changing the face of women&#039;s football in the UAE - The Asian Game<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/how-banaat-fc-is-changing-the-face-of-womens-football-in-the-uae\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ro_RO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Banaat FC is changing the face of women&#039;s football in the UAE - The Asian Game\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the United Arab Emirates, August 28 is Emirati Women\u2019s Day, a chance to celebrate the increasingly significant role women are playing in Emirati society. For Budreya Faisal, a pioneering business and football marketing executive from Dubai, the day now also carries extra significance. It\u2019s the day she launched her latest passion project, one she [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/how-banaat-fc-is-changing-the-face-of-womens-football-in-the-uae\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Asian Game\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-14T05:57:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-17T01:45:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/BFC4.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1349\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Paul Williams\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@www.twitter.com\/PaulWilliams_85\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Paul Williams\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/how-banaat-fc-is-changing-the-face-of-womens-football-in-the-uae\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/how-banaat-fc-is-changing-the-face-of-womens-football-in-the-uae\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Paul Williams\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/35d5fc2ea75ad8209bf01bf0eba938f2\"},\"headline\":\"How Banaat FC is changing the face of women&#8217;s football in the UAE\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-14T05:57:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-17T01:45:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/how-banaat-fc-is-changing-the-face-of-womens-football-in-the-uae\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1228,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/how-banaat-fc-is-changing-the-face-of-womens-football-in-the-uae\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/BFC4.jpg?fit=1080%2C1349&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"AFC Women's Champions League\",\"Banaat FC\",\"UAE\",\"Women's Football\"],\"articleSection\":[\"INTERVIEW\"],\"inLanguage\":\"ro-RO\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/how-banaat-fc-is-changing-the-face-of-womens-football-in-the-uae\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/how-banaat-fc-is-changing-the-face-of-womens-football-in-the-uae\\\/\",\"name\":\"How Banaat FC is changing the face of women's football in the UAE - 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