# Al-Ula FC (women)

Al-Ula Women's Football Club (Arabic: فريق العلا للسيدات) is a Saudi professional women's football club based in Al-Ula, Medina Province. It plays in the Saudi Women's Premier League, the top tier women's football league in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Ula successfully secured promotion to the premier league in their inaugural season.

## History

Founded in 2023, Al-Ula's women's team began its journey in May, holding trials after appointing Jordanian coach Alaa Abu Qasheh to lead. Starting training sessions in mid-July, they aim to shape a team that meets high expectations for their debut in the Women's First Division League in November. Prior to launching their league campaign, the club secured the signatures of five foreign players, including two European internationals, Bosnian Selma Kapetanović and Croatian Fatjesa Gegollaj, marking the league's first-ever signings of active European internationals. The club made history by winning their inaugural match 14–0 against Ohd, a game that concluded before full time due to a shortage of players on the opposing team.
Following an impressive performance in the group stage, where they won seven matches and drew one, maintaining an unbeaten record, Al-Ula secured qualification for the final stages. Al-Ula outperformed Al-Bayraq with a 5–0 victory and drew 1–1 against Abha, securing their spot in the league's semi-finals. On March 10, 2024, Al-Ula secured promotion to the Saudi Women's Premier League by defeating Al-Amal 3–0 in the semi-final match.
Al-Ula emerged as champions of the First Division, clinching victory in the final by defeating Al-Taraji on penalties, thus becoming the second team ever to claim the title.

## Players
### Current squad

    As of 27 September 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | KSA | Hiba Asad |
| 3 | DF | BRA | Tuani Lemos |
| 4 | DF | KSA | Dana Filemban |
| 5 | DF | KSA | Dena Bakar |
| 6 | MF | KSA | Wojood Al-Harthi |
| 7 | MF | BIH | Selma Kapetanović |
| 8 | FW | BRA | Jaine Lemke |
| 9 | FW | KSA | Shaima Mahmoud |
| 11 | FW | KSA | Hebah Bukhari |
| 12 | FW | KSA | Ghaliah bin Laden |
| 17 | FW | KSA | Nawras Al-Khaldi |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | MF | YEM | Hadeel Jehran |
| 19 | MF | KSA | Mariam Al-Tamimi |
| 20 | MF | KSA | Nadiyah Al-Dhidan |
| 21 | MF | CRO | Fatjesa Gegollaj |
| 22 | DF | KSA | Lama Abdullah |
| 25 | GK | EGY | Tasnim Ahmed |
| 26 | MF | BIH | Melisa Hasanbegović |
| 86 | GK | FRA | Sarah Bouhaddi |
| 91 | DF | KSA | Raghad Helmi |
| — | FW | CIV | Ange N'Guessan |

## Coaching and management staff

| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Ray Farrugia |
| Assistant coach | Brian Bartolo |
| Assistant coach | Wilco van Buuren [nl] |
| Assistant coach | Nada Abdullah |
| Goalkeeping coach | Miguel Ângelo Menezes |
| Fitness coach | Bethany Testro |
| Video analyst | Sergiu Bolboaca |
| Head of Physiotherapy Unit | Rodrigo Martín Baeza |
| Physiotherapy Specialist | Marwa El Adrosy |
Last updated: November 7, 2024 Source: Al-Ula

## Records and statistics
### Competition record

Al-Ula's performance over their completed seasons:
| Season | Div. | pos. | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Season Top Scorer | Saudi Women's Cup pos. |
| 2023–24 | 1. D | 1st | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 73 | 3 | Selma Kapetanović | N/A |

## Honours

* Saudi Women's First Division League (tier 2):
** Champions (1): 2023–24