Cristiano Ronaldo spoke of his desire to raise the profile of the game in Saudi Arabia when he signed for Al-Nassr and is determined to do his bit in helping the women’s game
Cristiano Ronaldo is delivering his commitment to women’s football as he looks to grow the game in Saudi Arabia.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner joined Al-Nassr back in January in a move that surprised many. European football remains the pinnacle at club level but Ronaldo, who left Manchester United in acrimonious circumstances, opted to move to the Middle East.
One of his motives being his desire to grow the game – claiming he had accomplished everything in Europe during his spells in Manchester, Madrid and Turin. Ronaldo spoke about raising the profile of the women’s game and has continued to talk up their qualities on social media – where he has millions of followers.
Al-Nassr are immensely competitive domestically, currently sitting top of the table on goal difference as three teams battle it out for the title. Their women’s team is equally as successful and recently claimed a first ever league success with Ronaldo paying tribute to them on his Instagram.
He posted an image of them celebrating alongside the caption: “Huge congratulations to @alnassr_fc women’s team on their 1st league win. Such a fantastic achievement.”
Ronaldo, upon joining Al-Nassr, stated that he wanted to grow football in the Kingdom – which ranged from the current men’s game to the younger stars and the women’s teams.
He said when he arrived: “It’s a new challenge and I’m so glad that Al Nassr has given me this opportunity to develop, not only in football, but also for the young generations, and for women as well. Many people probably don’t know, but Al Nassr has a women’s football team as well. Women’s football is very competitive here.
“I know what I want, and I know, of course, what I don’t want as well. It’s a good chance to change, to help with my knowledge and my experience to grow many, many important things. I want to give a different vision of the country from the footballing perspective of everybody. This is why I took this opportunity.”
The women’s game continues to grow around the world with the World Cup taking place later this year. England claimed their first ever major tournament success in the Euros last summer and there have been calls for the FA Cup winners to be given equal prize money this year.
Sports minister Stuart Andrew said: “Last year Uefa doubled the women’s Euros prize money but this is frankly still a fraction of what the men get. In January last year it was announced the FA would increase prize money for the winners of the women’s FA Cup from this season. However, there is still some way to go to get to the equal prize money of the men’s FA Cup.”
