For the first time, Saudi Arabia has hosted the Kingdom’s first netball tournament onboard a cruise ship while sailing. The netball tournament took place on the 4,500-passenger MSC Bellissima ship in the Red Sea.

Hosted by Saudi Netball, in collaboration with Sports for All and the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA), the event has left everyone ecstatic, as it also highlighted women’s participation in great numbers.

The women-dominated sport, netball is being promoted as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 to increase women’s participation in sport as part of a healthy and active lifestyle, stated Saudi Tourism Authority.

The tournament took place on board the MSC Bellissima cruise ship which has been running since the end of July and is the largest cruise ship to ever set sail in the Red Sea.

Netball Saudi is one of 16 sports federations and committees announced by the Saudi Olympic Committee in May 2021, as part of the Committee’s effort to widen the range of sports offered and the number of sporting communities in Saudi.

“Netball is an ideal sport to introduce across schools in the Kingdom,” said Princess Ghada bint Abdullah, chairwoman of Netball Saudi, adding: “As a game, netball is inviting, accessible, encouraging, fun, and inclusive. Its game rules ensure the equal participation of all players on the court.”

The first match only took place between two teams with a total number of sixteen players ranging from thirteen to twenty-three years old and been practicing Netball in the Riyadh-based Golden Sports Academy.

The tournament was a joint sports-tourism initiative showcasing Saudi’s continued progress toward building a vibrant society, a part of the Vision 2030 plan led by the Crown Prince.