Football clubs the world over are built on the support of their fans.
From the biggest clubs to some of the smallest, tribalism and emotional connection are passed down from grandparents to parents to children.
Stories are told, legends immortalized and cross-generational moments created, adding to the rich fabric of the game.
So it is for 22-year-old Saudi Arabian Layan Jouhari.
Born in the seaside city of Jeddah, she was raised by a family of diehard Al-Ittihad supporters loyal to a club founded almost 100 years ago with with one of the richest histories anywhere in Asia.
Jouhari’s uncle, Ghanayem Al-Harbi, played for Al-Ittihad for almost a decade during the 1960s and ’70s and went on to work as an assistant coach under Carlos Alberto Parreira with the Saudi Arabian national team when the Green Falcons won the AFC Asian Cup in 1988.
“He talks about winning the cup, and there’s a picture of him holding the cup (that) he always shows me,” she said of her uncle.
Her father, Abdulmojeeb, also represented Al-Ittihad, but in different sports, playing both volleyball and table tennis for the Jeddah club.
So it is fair to say Jouhari and her family bleed yellow and black.
“Ittihad is like blood for so many, because it started in 1927, so it’s already one of the oldest clubs in Saudi,” she told Arab News.
“From the beginning my whole heritage is Ittihad, so we’re huge fans of Ittihad.”
Jouhari, part of an emerging generation of female players, has gone one better than just wearing the famous yellow-and-black kit as a fan; she is now wearing it as an Al-Ittihad player, having been signed by her childhood club to be part of their inaugural squad for the first season of the recently completed Saudi Women’s Premier League.
Having grown up idolising players such as Moroccan midfield maestro Karim Al-Ahmadi, who played almost 100 times for Al-Ittihad across three seasons, and recent signings such as Tarek Hamed and Ahmed Hegazi, Jouhari could scarcely believe the news when she found out.
“Just talking about it, I can’t get rid of the smile on my face,” she said.
“It came so rapidly, all the changes and all the developments here for women’s football in Saudi. This was one of the huge steps that Saudi took, which is to have all the major clubs, the men’s clubs in Saudi, start a women’s team.
“When I heard that I’m going to be part of Ittihad, it was maybe the best news I’ve heard in my life. I called up my whole family one by one just to tell them the news. It was indescribable.”
She added: “Some of them, like my uncles who are older, they couldn’t believe it; they were just so curious and excited.
“They’re like, ‘when are you going to play, can we watch the matches?’ So I was like, of course, it’s all going to be open.
“Here in Jeddah we have Al-Jawhara (King Abdullah Sports City) Stadium, it’s the biggest stadium in our region, and that’s where we were playing the league games, on the reserve field.
“So they were even shocked that we’re getting that much support. It’s very exciting.”
Almost her entire family came to watch that first match, a Jeddah derby against rivals Al-Ahli, and they would have walked away happy, with the Tigers winning 3-1 to get their campaign off to the perfect start in front of a healthy crowd there to witness history.
While they could not keep pace with Riyadh rivals Al-Nassr, who clinched the inaugural championship, and Al-Hilal, at the end of their first campaign Al-Ittihad finished a respectable fourth, laying a solid foundation for the next generation of women who can look up to the likes of Jouhari and dream of one day also playing for the club they grew up supporting.
“There has been a rapid development happening the past four years. I don’t think it has happened this fast anywhere else in the world,” the 22-year-old said.
“So for me to be a part of that, it’s such a blessing. Every now and then there’s something new, a bigger project, more events, more opportunities, and all I can do now is seize the moment and work hard on myself, because I know that what I’m doing now is important for me, but also important for the future and the next generation.
“I’m rolling out the carpet for the next generation and setting the standards for Saudi football here for women, so it’s a responsibility as much as it is a blessing.”
While the season may have ended, the football will continue for Jouhari, who is also a member of the Saudi women’s national team that will this week play a series of friendlies against Indonesia.
The Indonesian team played at the most recent AFC Women’s Asian Cup and are ranked 97th in the world and 20th in Asia, making them the highest-ranked nation that Saudi Arabia has faced since their formation 12 months ago.
Whatever the result, Jouhari is optimistic for the future of the women’s game in the Kingdom.
“It’s only been a year so far for our national team,” she said. “But already we’ve see a huge change from when we started. Now we have started the RTC (regional training centers) and there are training centers all over Saudi for young girls.
“We are already seeing a lot of talented young girls appearing and I think they are going to take the stage in the next five to 10 years. I feel very optimistic about that.”
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
