Monika Staab taking on new project in Saudi Arabia

Anticipation is written all over Monika Staab's her face — it's crystal clear that she is once again completely committed to an exciting new project. On September 1, she will become the coach of Saudi Arabia's first-ever women's national soccer team. The archconservative country only recently changed legislation to allow women to drive cars, attend sporting events in stadiums and play soccer. 

"I'm very excited and looking forward to it," Staab tells DW. 

It was only last November that a women's soccer league was launched in the Islamic kingdom.

"I was delighted and surprised when I heard that Saudi Arabia was allowing women to play soccer," Staab says. "It was an historic moment."

It wasn't long before she received a call from Saudi Arabia asking if she would consider taking on what would be a daunting task.

"I spoke with the people from the federation, I later met with them in person, and I gained the impression that they were taking it all very seriously. I asked them what would be allowed and what wouldn't be," she says. 

International experience

Part of Staab's job will involve building Saudi Arabia's women's soccer program and the structures that support it from the ground up. It's a pioneering role but that's something she knows a lot about. 

"It's not just about the national team getting good results," she says. "The people in charge know that they have to have a strategy, a plan. My discussions with the Saudi Arabian federation left me with the impression that they are serious about this. They have done their homework." 

Staab's career as a player took her to France and England before returning to Germany and the women's Bundesliga. She then moved on to coaching, working for the German Soccer Association (DFB) and the world governing body FIFA.

Always up for an adventure, Staab's work has taken her to more than 80 countries over the past four decades, including Pakistan, Iran, Bahrain and Qatar — meaning she already has a wealth of experience working in Muslim-majority countries. 

"I will not only be responsible for the [Saudi] national team," Staab stresses. "I'll also be training female coaches ... I want to leave a sustainable legacy there. Things should continue to click long after I have left."  

Winning over the skeptics 

Staab says getting girls in Saudi Arabia interested in the sport and creating opportunities for them to start playing from as early as age as possible will be a big part of her job.

"It will take us five years to build up the structures, this can't be done overnight. As we do so, we must ensure that our strategy gains acceptance in society, with all that goes with its mentality and norms. I am well aware of the fact that this is a very sensitive issue to deal with. There are people who say that women who play soccer can't get pregnant or suffer damage from it."

But Staab points out that it wasn't that long ago that women faced similar attitudes back home.

"Fifty years ago, women weren't allowed to play in Germany either. But women just want to have fun playing soccer. We need to communicate this and convince them that it is completely safe. This also brings a society together," Staab says.  

She is looking forward to embarking on her new project without any hesitancy — in part because of her wide range of experiences.

"I'm not afraid. I've been to so many countries where there were dangers. I want to do my job," Staab says. "If I was afraid, I wouldn't be able to do the job." 

As she embarks on her new project, Staab has one main wish: "I want there to be women's soccer in Saudi Arabia, even though it's an Arab country. Even though soccer is very male dominated. The federation wants to make a difference there and I want to help."