"Saudi Arabia and Iceland share one thing: the joy of girls playing football"

Adventure Destination is the column where A BOLA introduces players scattered across the most remote corners of the world.

Isabel Osório is a coach and technical coordinator for football at one of Al-Ula's Saudi academies.

— What's the most unusual thing that's ever happened to you?

— Stopping practice for prayer. I'd never seen it before. We even adjusted the schedule afterward because they have five prayers a day, and loudspeakers throughout the city call them to prayer. There was one daily prayer that coincided with practice time. Eventually, a player came to ask if we could change the practice time so they wouldn't have to stop. I said, 'Look, I think it's good, but I never said anything because when it comes to religion, I don't interfere, no matter the context. What you believe is what you believe. As long as we can respect each other and work, everything's fine.' But, in fact, I felt that breaking practice for anything shouldn't happen. Everyone agreed, and only then did I accept the change. Seeing that in the middle of practice is quite amusing, in the sense that I was completely unaware of it.

— Any more stories like that?

— There was a time I asked why women had to be covered. They explained it's a matter of protection. 'But protection from what?' I asked. 'Protection from gazes,' they replied. And I said, 'But they also look at you. I, at least, also look at you. As long as there's respect...' And they said, 'No, your body is different from ours, so we have to respect you.' In my reality, I can't understand it. However, I can understand it in theirs, because they don't see beyond that; they were raised to live this way. If I had grown up like them, my perspective would probably be the same. If that was all I knew until I was 30 or 40, I'd probably also have difficulty adjusting. Once, I also spoke to them about Fátima, comparing it to Mecca and Medina for religious people. I showed them images, and they found it very beautiful and said it looked like Mecca. One of them told me, 'So that's where you go to ask for forgiveness when you do something wrong.' I replied, 'I wasn't raised that way. When we do something wrong to people, we ask the person for forgiveness. I don't go to Fátima to ask for forgiveness.' Their thinking is always very much focused on religion, and these contrasts in reality are very interesting. I also told them that for us, Sunday is the day to go to mass. 'And do you go?' they asked me. I said, 'No, I wasn't raised to go to mass.' They looked very serious: 'How is that possible?' I replied, 'Just as it's possible for you to go to the mosque five times a day and wake up at five in the morning to pray.' Ultimately, I try not to judge, but to understand, even if it's a big shock.

— How do you convince a family in Saudi Arabia to let their daughter play football?

— It's not easy. In Medina, we have girls who go to national youth teams, and it's not always easy to convince a father to let his daughter go to a training camp or play on open fields where anyone can watch practice. That's why the club also wants to do this work here in Al-Ula. There's a national intention to make this openness as normal as possible. I believe that in cities like Al-Ula, which is much smaller and where I don't see girls playing in the street, it will take longer. But, since the World Cup is still some time away, I want to believe that this openness will happen by then.

— Do the girls have to play covered?

— Of the girls I saw in Medina, their arms and legs are covered. There's one or two who play in that full suit where only their face is visible. Those who train inside the school are perfectly normal, in t-shirts and shorts, because only women are present there. The first event I attended, as there were, if I'm not mistaken, two men, the female coaches were covered. At recent events, the female coaches were dressed in tracksuits and t-shirts. I could identify them because I saw their faces, but they usually recognize each other by voice. I find it impressive.

— Are conditions now being created for this integration to happen gradually?

— Yes, our club is trying to create them. The fact that I'm here and a woman is a good step. Currently, I only coach boys' teams, from U6 to U18. There's no issue of it being a women's team and needing to be coached by women. Now, there's a clear intention to have women. Still, in my view, a football coach is a football coach; not a women's football coach. We are coaches of people, whether boys or girls. Competence is valued. The club is trying to lay these foundations. In Saudi Arabia, it will take time, but in Portugal, we also can't say that female coaches are in male contexts. Culturally, it's not just in Saudi Arabia. In Portugal, we also have these issues.

— Today you're in Arabia, 10 years ago you were in Iceland [as a player]. What do the two countries have in common?

— The only thing in common is — and it was something that fascinated me here in Al-Ula at events with girls — their happiness. It's indescribable to see the joy of the girls running, kicking a ball. The freedom among them is different, but the happiness is identical. Happiness is common for women who play football.

— What is your main goal in Saudi Arabia?

— The next step is to get girls playing football in Al-Ula. When we have girls playing — even if it's within a school — then I believe I'll be happier. The intention is that, starting this September, we'll be able to have girls playing within schools.