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Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Flames were on fire this season taking home the coveted GulfWeekly-sponsored Arsenal Bahrain Ladies League trophy and securing the Knock-out Cup competition too, pulling off the first double victory in the league’s history.
The team joined the league in 2011, mostly made up of novice players looking to have some fun across the causeway while keeping fit and learning the rules of the game.
At the beginning they lost more games than they could count but now the mixed-nationality squad, made up of players between the ages of 15 and late 30s, appear to be unstoppable.
Captain Amy Goodwright, 28, an employee at Saudi Aramco, said: “It’s been brilliant. We fought pretty hard for this and made our way to the top. Being a part of the ladies league has given us the opportunity to progress further than just training with each other on the compound.
“The league has been a good social thing for all of us too and even though we were losing at the beginning we were all still having a great time. It was a nice adventure travelling over the causeway every week and we met a lot of great girls in Bahrain.
“This season was our time. It was unbelievable to go from win to win and it just brought our confidence sky high, which in itself helped improve our game. We all really enjoyed the season and it was a great start to the year.”
The Flames took on league runners-up Arsenal Reds in the cup challenge competition and defeated them 2-0.
Goodwright added: “The cup competition was tough. The 20-minute games are a lot faster paced and difficult so we fought every single second of every single game. It was great though when we won the cup.”
The GulfWeekly league trophy, however, will not be leaving Bahrain as it will be placed on display at JJ’s Irish Restaurant in Adliya. The Flames believed it was only fair to dedicate it to their sponsors.
The competing Bahrain teams aim to ensure it remains in the kingdom when the new season kicks off.
Arsenal Red captain and striker Reema Al Qassab, 27, from Manama, who works for an investment company, said: “The Flames were simply the better team when we played against them in the league. In the cup competition they had three chances on goal and two of them were on target. We had 13 chances but we just weren’t as clinical as they were. I think that’s why we lost the cup.
“They have come a long way and have worked hard for their success. They deserve the victory. I love our team and I think we all played well together. However, we have our eyes set on winning next season - we are not accepting second place anymore.”
The league presentation ceremony was staged at Soccer City in Janabiyah after the cup and plate prizes were handed out. The Eastern Flames Leah Montenegro picked up the Girl of the Season Award for the second time in a row and Arsenal Red shared the Fair Play Award with their young Junior Gunners club mates.
In the Plate competition, Arsenal Yellows emerged victorious with a 2-0 win over Joga TFA, having defeated the U16 National Team on penalties in the semi-final. Desert Divas finished top in the Bowl competition, ahead of two Junior Gunners teams.
The presentation ceremony was attended by all the teams and the league trophy was presented by Stan Szecowka, Editor of GulfWeekly. The Cup prizes were handed out by John Leitch and Mohamed Butt, the two Arsenal FC interns that have spent the last three months at the soccer school and are now returning to London.
Deena Rahman, head coach at Arsenal Soccer School Bahrain, who came up with the ladies league concept, said: “This season has been fantastic just in the sense that we have grown again. Having nine teams compete has also been a record for us.
“Even in the Cup we had 11 teams, so again a lot of growth going on. For me, the reason I started this was to get a structured programme so that ladies could play competitive matches. When we started it we had five teams. Having nine teams and coming down on Monday evening and seeing how many ladies are playing football is just amazing. That’s why I started it and I am so proud to see so many ladies playing.
“They have all developed massively. I think the Eastern Flames are a testament to that. Only a year ago, the team from Saudi finished bottom of the league, securing zero points and conceding more than 50 goals. They have improved to such an extent that this season they lost only one game and won the league by a clear eight points.
“The Cup competition was great too. We made it so every team could come again and compete for something. Arsenal Red, in my opinion, fancied their chances but were just unlucky.”
The ladies will be back on the pitch for an all-new season starting April 15.
