Football legend Pele congratulates Saudi Arabia women on first international victory

Women's national team mark debut with 2-0 win against the Seychelles in Male

The Saudi Arabia women’s football team celebrates after beating Seychelles 2-0 in a friendly in Male on Sunday. Photo: SAFF

Saudi Arabia women’s football team in action against Seychelles. Photo: SAFF

Saudi players celebrate. Photo: SAFF

Saudi Arabia women’s team celebrate winning their first international match, against Seychelles. Photo: SAFF

Saudi women’s football team players celebrate. Photo: SAFF

Saudi players celebrate their victory against Seychelles. Photo: SAFF

Saudi Arabia in action against Seychelles. Photo: SAFF

Saudi Arabia in action against Seychelles. Photo: SAFF

Saudi Arabia celebrate their win against Seychelles. Photo: SAFF

Pele has offered his congratulations to the Saudi Arabia women’s national football team after they won their first international fixture.

The side, managed by German coach Monika Staab, made their international debut on Sunday night in the Maldives, where they defeated the Seychelles 2-0 in a friendly in Male.

Al Bandari Mubarak opened the scoring at the Maldives National Stadium to become Saudi women football’s first international goalscorer, with Maryam Al Tamimi doubling the lead from the penalty spot four minutes into the second half. The Saudis round off the brief tournament against hosts Maldives on Thursday.

Reacting to the win on Sunday, three-time men’s World Cup winner Pele’s official Twitter account read: “I want to congratulate the [Saudi Arabian Football Federation] and their Women's National Football Team for their first ever official Fifa match. Today is a historic day not only for you, but for everyone who loves football.”

In November, the kingdom established the 16-team Regional Football League, with eight teams then advancing to the National Football Championship, which was contested last month.

Speaking before the trip to the Maldives, Staab told the Saudi Arabian Football Federation’s official site: "Our goal is for the players to gain the experience necessary to play international matches, in addition to that we seek to officially join the Fifa classification.

"Since last September, we have started searching for players through whom we can start the national team’s journey and compete in its official and international competitions.

"The establishment of the first official Saudi league through the regions league and then the Kingdom's championship played a major role in the selection process, and helped us a lot as a technical staff with the players playing competitive matches ... We hope that the team will be fully prepared when participating in its first official tournament."