Ashleigh Plumptre: 'I deeply hurt people by moving to Saudi Arabia'

Ashley Harnett and Lucy Stanhope from BBC Sport discuss how women's football is growing in Saudi Arabia, with several high-profile players joining the country's top league, including Ellen White, Jen Beattie, and Ben Haines. They also explore the challenges faced by women's football in Saudi Arabia, including low attendances and a lack of community initiatives to encourage fans.
 
You know I'm loving this trend of more women playing in top leagues around the world! It's awesome that Ellen White is part of the mix in Saudi Arabia - she's like a legend on the pitch. 🤩 But for real, it's not all sunshine and rainbows over there. Those low attendances are kinda mind-boggling. I mean, women's football should be thriving, but it feels like nobody's really getting behind it. And those community initiatives? Yeah, they need to step up their game. Can't just rely on the top players to carry the torch, you feel? We need to see more grassroots support and involvement from fans and local authorities. It's not rocket science, but I guess it takes a village to make things happen. Anyways, glad we're seeing some growth in women's football globally - it's about time! ⚽💪
 
Ugh, I'm so over this whole Saudi Arabia women's football thing 🤦‍♀️... like, don't get me wrong, it's great that they're trying, but come on, 3 high-profile players joining the league? It's just a PR stunt to make them seem all progressive and stuff 💁‍♀️. And what's up with these low attendances at their games? Like, I get it, women's football is still growing, but you'd think they'd have better numbers by now 🤔.

And don't even get me started on the lack of community initiatives... I mean, what even are they doing to engage fans and grow the game in a sustainable way? It sounds like they're just slapping together some marketing campaign and expecting everyone to magically fall in love with women's football ⏰. And honestly, until we see some real grassroots growth and community support, I'm gonna keep my doubts about this whole venture 🤷‍♀️...
 
Ugh, I don't know about this Saudi Arabia women's football thing... 🤔 It sounds like just another example of rich people trying to buy their way into "progress" without actually doing any real good. Like, Ellen White and all those other players are getting paid millions to play in a country that still has some pretty weird laws on the books about women's rights. And don't even get me started on the attendance thing - it's like, how can they expect fans to show up if there's no decent infrastructure or community events? 🚫 It just seems like another case of a wealthy country trying to virtue signal without actually putting in the work. 😒
 
I'm just hoping that more people can see the potential for growth in women's football in Saudi Arabia 🤞. I mean, we've got top-notch players like Ellen White joining the league, which is a huge boost for the sport. And it's not all doom and gloom, there are some amazing initiatives happening, like the work being done by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation to promote women's football.

But yeah, I get that attendances have been low, and community events need more attention 🤔. It's just about finding that balance between growing the game and making sure it's not forgotten in the process. We can't expect everything to change overnight, but if we keep pushing forward, I'm sure we'll see some amazing things happen for women's football in Saudi Arabia 💪
 
I'm so glad to see more women playing football in Saudi Arabia! It's about time we saw some talented ladies taking the field ⚽👏. I mean, Ellen White is like, super famous in the UK already, so it's cool that she's joining the league there too 👍. But seriously, growing a sport takes time and effort, and I'm sure the lasses playing there are doing a great job of making it happen 💪.

It's also not surprising to hear about low attendances and lack of community initiatives - those things can be tough to overcome 🤔. But I think it's awesome that BBC Sport is giving some love to women's football in Saudi Arabia, shedding light on the challenges they're facing 👍. Maybe with more coverage and promotion, we'll see more fans showing up to watch the games 😊? Fingers crossed for those talented ladies out there! 🤞
 
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