UAE women’s football legend Houriya Taheri has become the first female to coach a men’s beach soccer team in Asia.
The first Arab lady to receive the professional coaching license has been appointed the Assistant Coach of Athletic Football Club (AFC) Beach Soccer Team and successfully led the team to the domestic Beach Soccer League’s quarter-final.
Houriya is no stranger in the Asian women’s football fraternity as she had represented UAE Women’s Football Team in various competitions both as a player and a coaching staff. However, this is the first time she has taken on a role in the established UAE Beach Soccer scene.
“After my international playing days, I have picked up foot volley during one of my vacations at the beach and I have been playing the sport ever since. However, I realised that there’re actually many female footballers who also love and play the game very well. Unfortunately, there is no proper platform or an UAE Women’s Beach Soccer Team in the country. So that’s when I thought perhaps I could get more involved in the country’s beach soccer scene and that could motivate more women footballers to come forward to get involved, “ explained Houriya.
The twice AFC Beach Soccer Championship winner UAE Men’s Beach Soccer Team has been one of the power houses in Asia. The team has also qualified for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 6 times since the inaugural World Cup kicked off in 2005. With the Men’s remarkable achievement, what does Houriya have in mind for the women’s?
“This is the first step. I hope that by being the first female beach soccer coach in Asia, I can get more female footballers to come forward to play the sports, we can form the first ever UAE Women’s Beach Soccer Team and all of us can do our country proud in the near future.”
Houriya Taheri is the first Arab lady to receive a professional coaching license. She is also recognised to be the one who single-handedly developed a women’s football culture in UAE, if not the whole of Middle East.
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