Today, by royal order, three sportswomen were given Saudi citizenship. Yes, you heard that right: Saudi citizenship, which was considered impossible to obtain by non-Saudi citizens, has now become a reality. We bet you want to know how it happened, so here’s the story:
The Beginning
Back in 2021, an unexpected change took place in Saudi Arabia. The country opened its citizenship to highly skilled professionals from different fields. By royal decree, people belonging to specialized fields such as science, medicine, culture, sports, and technology can apply for citizenship.
This was all about promoting its Vision 2030, which includes attracting global talent to the Kingdom.
Back then, among the first who nabbed citizenship was Pakistani scientist Dr. Mehmoud Khan, known as the CEO of an anti-aging startup. He had quite a distinguished career that included being the Vice Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer of Global Research and Development at PepsiCo.
The New Talent
Fast forward to today, when three sportswomen joined the citizenship list. They included three women: American footballer Maryam Al-Tamimi, French tennis player Maysan Hussein, and Syrian Muay Thai fighter Tasneem Al-Qassab.
Al Tamimi signed to join Al-Ittihad in a deal that runs until 2025. Syrian Muay Thai fighter Al-Qassab was yet another who earned citizenship, and she deserved it, knowing that she won the 2021 Saudi Women’s Championship held in Riyadh. Hussein earned citizenship because she won several girls’ championships in Saudi Arabia.
The three sportswomen were the most recent additions to the citizenship list. Along with them, Niveen Khashab, a founding member of KAUST, also got citizenship. She is a Lebanese scientist with expertise in bioengineering and nanomaterials.
Indian entrepreneur Faraz Khalid, known as the CEO of Noon, also nabbed citizenship along with Sudanese entrepreneur Ahmed Mirghani, partner at BIM Ventures.
These are just a few names from the long list of entrepreneurs, scientists, athletes, and other creative minds who have become citizens of Saudi Arabia.