Meet the Saudi Designer Who Created Football's First True Women's Fanwear

At the recently held Al-Nassr home game in Riyadh, something significant happened in the stands: several women supporters caught attention wearing matching, custom modest fanwear dress. Modest, refined and quintessentially football, and in doing so, they made a statement that the sport may have been slow to acknowledge: female fans have always been here. It’s just that the clothes hadn't caught up.

The dress was created by Saudi designer Nora Al Shaikh, in collaboration with adidas for the adidas-sponsored club. Limited to just 100 pieces and gifted directly to supporters, it meant much more than just a commercial drop, it was a milestone for women who engage with football culture on their own terms.

"As football continues to grow in Saudi, I was seeing more women fully immersed in the stands, the atmosphere, and the wider football culture," says Al Shaikh. "Their presence was mostly expressed with props like flags or scarves. There wasn't actual fanwear designed for how they could dress. That stayed with me, and led me to bring this idea to life and create something that truly resonates with them."

What she’s created is not a jersey lifted off the men's template. This has been designed from the ground up, offering a refined take on matchday dressing, blending modest silhouettes with subtle club signifiers, and reflecting how the modern Saudi woman chooses to express her support both confidently and authentically. Fashion-led yet feminine, it is arguably football's first true women's fanwear piece.

The piece has sparked a wider conversation around the evolving relationship between fashion, modesty and football fandom in the Kingdom, and how women supporters are gradually redefining fanwear. This is an important conversation, which feels long overdue. But now that it has started, it has the world paying attention.