The Eastern Flames FC of the Saudi Women’s Premier League have signed Pakistan women’s football team captain Maria Khan, the club announced on Friday.
Maria, 31, is the first female footballer from Pakistan to be signed by a Saudi team. She was selected captain of Pakistan’s women’s squad for their comeback competition, the SAFF Women’s Championship, last year, and the team has made significant development under her leadership.
Maria has been signed by Dammam-based Saudi club Eastern Flames for this season to boost their first women’s league team.
On the microblogging site X, the team announced Maria’s signing, writing, “Maria Khan joins the ranks of Eastern Flames FC.”
“The Club’s management has contracted with the first foreign professional to support the ranks of the women’s first team in the women’s premier league this season,” according to the post’s Arabic language.
In response to her signing, Maria expressed her hope that playing for an international club will provide additional opportunities for Pakistani talent.
“I hope this starts to create opportunities for Pakistani athletes and talent that often goes unnoticed,” she said after joining Eastern Flames FC.
The club’s roster also includes players from Colombia, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco.
It should be mentioned that the team only won two of 14 games in the debut season of the Saudi Premier League last season.
Maria previously represented WAPDA in Pakistan.
The midfielder captured everyone’s attention earlier this year when she scored a fantastic free-kick to tie the game against hosts Saudi Arabia in a four-nation event.
Prior to Maria, Hajra Khan became Pakistan’s first female footballer to be signed by a foreign team when she joined the SHR Football team of Maldives in 2014.
