Maha Haddioui – Middle East

Maha Haddioui highlights importance of women’s sport in North Africa and the Middle East

Morocco’s pioneering golfer Maha Haddioui knows a thing or two about breaking new ground.

Having been inspired by watching the Lalla Meryem Cup in Rabat as a child, she  pursued her passion and qualified for the LET at Lalla Aicha Tour School in 2012, becoming the first Moroccan golfer to qualify to play full-time on the circuit.

The Lalla Meryem Cup is a women’s professional golf tournament in Morocco held under the High Royal Patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid. The tournament has been played annually since 1993 alongside theHassan II Golf Trophy and the two events joined the LET and European Tour schedules respectively in 2010.

The 26^th edition of the Lalla Meryem Cup, which was due to be played at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Rabat in June, was postponed to a later date as part of the fight against the risk of spreading the COVID-19 coronavirus, but continues to play an enormous role in the development of golf in Morocco.

As a trailblazer for the region and Morocco’s first Olympic golfer, Haddioui has inspired a new generation of Moroccan girls to play golf and she now wants to show the pathway for forging a professional sporting career to more women in the Arab world.

The 31-year-old from Agadir is particularly excited about the inaugural Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by Public Investment Fund, the first female professional golf tournament to be played in Saudi Arabia.

The LET event, which will carry a USD$1 million prize fund, will mark the first time that professional female golfers have played competitively in the country, breaking new ground in its ongoing transformation as part of Vision 2030.

The 72-hole stroke play competition, which will be broadcast domestically and to more than 340 million homes across more than 55 countries worldwide, will inspire a new generation of golfers throughout the Kingdom. A field of 108 LET professionals will contest for one of the richest prizes on the LET Schedule at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, near Jeddah, on the country’s stunning Red Sea coast.

Looking ahead to the inaugural LET event, Haddioui said: “I’m thrilled to be making history by playing in the first women’s tournament in Saudi Arabia. I have been lucky enough to visit the Kingdom and I have seen the country’s commitment to social change as part of Vision 2030. Golf Saudi’s development strategy is female inclusive and will create multiple channels and touch points for women to participate.

“Saudi having their first women’s tournament is really important and is going to change a lot of things and that really makes a statement about women’s sport in general in the Arab world.”

The United Arab Emirates was the first Middle Eastern country to welcome the LET golfers in 2006 and continues to host the Omega Dubai Moonlight Classic.

Haddioui feels that women’s golf in the region is now moving into a new era. “Having Saudi start a new tournament for women with such big prize money, to me, makes a statement and it shows that they’re willing to grow the game and that the region is committed to women’s golf. Morocco is doing the same. They’ve been really committed to the women’s tournament, they offer one of the biggest prize pots on the Ladies European Tour.”

One of the richest tournaments on the LET schedule, the hosting of the Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by Public Investment Fund demonstrates Saudi Arabia’s commitment to the involvement of women and girls in their Vision 2030 reform plans.

Muslim women will be key players in the region’s social and economic growth in future years and professional golf’s newest high-profile tournament will help to create more opportunities for females in the Arab world.