Lina Boussaha on French football's hijab ban, leaving PSG and finding the net at Al Nassr

French-Algerian midfielder talks to The National about women's football in Saudi Arabia, winning the league title, Ronaldo's support and switching her international allegiance

Al Nassr's Lina Boussaha. Photo: Mohammed Ali

At the age of 23, French-Algerian midfielder Lina Boussaha was ready to give up on her professional football career.

After playing her way from the youth ranks to the first team at Paris Saint-Germain, her hometown club, Boussaha spent two years struggling with a foot injury. While she was sidelined, she made the decision to start wearing the hijab.

Since 2016, the France Football Federation (FFF) has had a rule that prohibits Muslim women from wearing headscarves while competing, considering wearing the hijab to be a breach of Article 1, which states that no player should wear “any sign or clothing clearly showing political, philosophical, religious or union affiliation”.

Boussaha, who from age 16 played for France’s national team through various age groups and won the French Cup with PSG at 19, realised she no longer had a place on the football pitch in her home country.

Various rights groups and organisations have submitted a petition to the State Council to lift the FFF’s ban on the hijab, but three months ago the court ruled that the federation’s decision to enforce neutral clothing was appropriate.

Having sustained a foot fracture and struggling to find a club that would welcome her and her hijab, Boussaha was preparing to accept that she may never play professional football again. She began to work as a personal trainer, building a healthy list of clients, and was ready to move on.

But just when she was about to hang up her boots, she received a call from her agent that Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia were interested in signing her.

Boussaha was in Qatar at the time attending World Cup matches and enjoying a break. She did not know anything about Saudi football and had little knowledge of Al Nassr.

“I didn’t have any information about the league, about the country. It was my first time in this country,” Boussaha told The National over a Zoom this week.

“I tried to find information on social media, on Google, nothing. I just said to my agent, ‘OK, I have an opportunity to go and play with my hijab. I will check and we will see.' So I came and I discovered a new country, new culture, new tradition, new football.”

Boussaha remembers the date she decided to join Al Nassr: December 12, 2022.

Less than three weeks later, Cristiano Ronaldo signed a historic deal with the club that put Al Nassr in the spotlight and led to a wave of star players joining teams in the Saudi Pro League.

“Before Ronaldo, it wasn’t famous like that. So I just came for football, playing with my hijab, with passion, and that’s it,” Boussaha said.

“Now I’m very lucky because of the impact of Ronaldo on the players. I’m experiencing that live now I’m here and I’m very happy because it’s a Muslim country, I can play with my hijab. I’m coming back from a big injury, so I take pleasure again to play football.

“My teammates are amazing, the project here is amazing and it will still develop and progress more. I’m very happy alhamdulillah.”

When Ronaldo arrived in Saudi Arabia, he spoke about his desire to help develop women’s football in the kingdom.

He backed up his comments by visiting Al Nassr’s women’s side before their final game of the season in February – a match against Al Yamamah that was set to decide the title.

He was the first to congratulate Boussaha and her teammates on social media when they overcame their rivals 3-2 to be crowned champions of the inaugural Saudi Women’s Premier League.

“When Ronaldo came [to Saudi Arabia] it was sudden, we weren’t ready,” Boussaha said. “Because there were no rumours and he came directly, we were shocked. It was crazy because he is my favourite football player, he inspired me a lot when I was young … he is a big inspiration for everyone.

“The impact that he brings is amazing and he said that he wants to develop women’s football, so for us it’s very important. He came and supported us, he spoke with us. He is invested in us.”

Boussaha was born in Saint-Denis, a suburb north of Paris, to Algerian parents. She started playing football at a young age with her brother, and describes her relationship with the sport as “a natural love”.

“I never forced it. I was with my ball everywhere, practising in the street, with men, just having fun, without any intention of being professional. It was a love like that, it was natural,” she said.

Her youth career began at Saint-Denis RC, before she was scouted by a PSG coach and joined their academy at age 13.

“I was 17 when I signed my first professional contract,” she said. “I was very happy, it was my first job and I really enjoyed it because you start to play with professionals and it was my city. It was my dream to play with PSG, with big players.”

At 17, Boussaha made her PSG first-team debut in a league game against Metz in October 2016. A couple of years later, she won the French Cup and was also part of France side that reached the final of the 2017 Uefa Women's Under-19 Championship.

“We also made the Champions League final with PSG. It was a big moment, I was 18, so for me it was very, very big,” she said. “All those kinds of moments are always on my mind.”

Playing in Saudi Arabia has been an adjustment for Boussaha, but she is impressed by how quickly women’s football has progressed in the kingdom.

“For me, considering it’s only been two years [since the foundation of the league], for what they are doing it’s very good, the federation and the league, the way they’re trying to develop it fast. They aren’t wasting any time,” she said.

“They are putting in ways to let it develop fast and with quality. Even on social media, the communication, the marketing and everything, for me it’s very good.

“It’s young, but they’re doing a great job. Where we play, the stadium, everything is very structured and organised. It will still develop more in a few years and bring a lot of big players.”

For now, Al Nassr’s women’s team is based in Al Khobar, with most of the Saudi players coming from the surrounding area. The club could relocate to Riyadh in the future, an idea that Boussaha believes would give the team a further boost.

With the influx of world-class players into the men’s Saudi Pro League, Boussaha believes the women’s competition – which currently has eight clubs – will also attract top talent.

“It started already during this summer. I received a lot of messages, and my agent as well,” she said. “A lot of women players want to come here because they saw the impact and the chance to come and play here.”

Former PSG player Aminata Diallo has arrived at Al Nassr ahead of the new season.

“She’s Muslim like me, she’s like me, my profile. We wanted to come here to Saudi Arabia, not just because of the football, but because of the lifestyle,” Boussaha said. “It’s really matching with what we want, what we like, even with the future.”

The Saudi Women’s Premier League begins in October and runs until February. Boussaha is confident her team can defend their crown.

“For sure, the goal is to be champions again. As Al Nassr, as champions, we want to keep the cup at home. Inshallah, we’ll give our maximum,” she said.

“We have a good team, a good coach [Abdulaziz Al Alwany], good staff, everything is ready for us to be champions again but we have to give everything for sure.

“We have all the ingredients and now we have to put it in the bowl and to cook it well.

“Maybe we’ll have the Saudi Cup as well. If we have the chance to be double champions it will be amazing. That’s the goal.”

While Boussaha acknowledges that the door has closed on her time playing in, and for, France, a new opportunity is opening up for her with the Algeria national team.

“Maybe this month I can go play with them,” she revealed. “Both my parents are Algerian and I am also living my Algerian side, I have all my family there. I lived big moments with them, I am always with them.

“So it’s not like I have the chance to play with Algeria but I don’t have the relationship. I have the relationship with Algeria, I am very proud to be Algerian and it’s a big chance for me to be able to play with them.”

Morocco made history at the recent Women’s World Cup, becoming the first Arab nation to qualify for the global showpiece and springing a surprise by advancing to the last 16, following victories over Colombia and South Korea in the group stage.

“It’s amazing, we can see that now the African teams are good and are improving and developing, they have very good players,” Boussaha said.

“I hope in the future that Algeria, Tunisia and all the African teams will be able to reach this level, and that the federations will help the teams to grow, because we have a lot of talent and it’s a pity that we can’t reach the highest level. We are very proud of the Moroccan team.”