Over the past five years, the world of sports has experienced two major accelerators. The first is the meteoric rise of women’s sports, with female athletes achieving unprecedented levels of recognition and popularity. Global stars such as Caitlin Clark, Simone Biles, and Ilona Maher are now firmly established household names, dominating headlines and demonstrating that the demand for women’s sports has never been higher.

Alongside the rise of women’s sports, the Middle East has emerged as a dominant force in the global sporting landscape. Since the UFC’s creation of Fight Island, the region has become a hotbed for major sporting events. From Riyadh Season to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and multiple Formula 1 races, almost every major sport has found a home in the Middle East.

At the start of this year, two standout events showcased the region’s sporting ambition: the UAE Tour and the Global Champions League season opener in Doha.

UAE Tour Women: A Landmark Event

In the UAE Tour Women’s race, Elisa Longo Borghini delivered a dominant performance, securing the overall victory with a commanding 2-minute and 6-second lead on Jebel Hafeet. However, the true significance of this event extends beyond the race itself. The efforts of RCS Sports and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council to promote the women’s race as a standalone event marked a major step forward in gender equality within the sport.

The UAE Tour Women remains the only women’s World Tour race in the Middle East, playing a crucial role in promoting the health and social benefits of cycling. In a region where cycling participation was once limited due to gender restrictions, this event represents progress in increasing accessibility and visibility for female athletes.

Back in 2016, the Women’s World Tour featured only 17 races with a total of 34 race days. Fast forward to 2024, and that number has surged to 27 races with 74 total race days. The benchmark event, the Tour de France Femmes, has played a pivotal role in this growth. The 2024 edition saw 20 million viewers tune in, inspiring cities like Rotterdam and The Hague to host the event and drive further local engagement.

Fabrizio D’Amico, CEO of RCS Sports, has highlighted that the Tour de France Femmes and the Giro D’Italia Women are benchmark races that the UAE Tour Women must strive to reach. For the UAE Tour Women, the focus is on increasing gender equality by fostering a safe and competitive environment. The goal is to gain respect and credibility among the cyclists, ensuring the event matures into a top-tier race.

The Iron Dames: Breaking Barriers in Motorsport and Equestrian Sports

Meanwhile, in Doha, the groundbreaking Iron Dames project continued to make history. Founded in 2018 by Deborah Mayer, Iron Dames is dedicated to promoting and supporting women in sports where they compete on equal terms with men. In 2023, the project achieved a landmark victory, with its all-female team becoming the first to win a race in the FIA World Endurance Championship and finishing second in the championship overall.

Expanding into equestrian sports in 2024, Iron Dames launched the first-ever all-female elite show jumping team to compete in prestigious FEI championships, including the Longines Global Champions Tour. The season opener in Doha saw their teams make a strong debut, with the Monaco Comets finishing third and the Cannes Stars taking the win.

Show jumping has seen significant growth in the Middle East, with nations such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain investing heavily in world-class facilities and fostering local and international participation. Al Shaqab, Doha, which hosted the Champions League season opener, stands as a testament to the increased investment and growth of the sport in the region.

Al Shaqab aims to be recognised as the premier equine centre. A major part of this is the inclusion of their Equine Education department, which features a riding academy. The academy’s role is to educate and promote horsemanship including equine care alongside technical riding ability. Teaching beginners all the way up to the national team, including a female only program that is delivered exclusively by a full team of female staff.

This is part of a broader seismic shift of attitudinal changes in the region, which has led to female participation in sport increasing due to similar initiatives and grassroots programs that encourage both recreational and competitive levels. The rise in representation of female athletes on our TV screens has sparked an increase of young girls in Dubai eager to sign up to take part in rugby and football, Emirates Rugby 7’s the one event to record a significant increase in interest.

A Bright Future for Sport

As women’s sports continue to gain recognition and the Middle East cements itself as a global sporting powerhouse, the landscape of international sports is evolving rapidly. The resources that are being put into events of this high-profile nature create incredible moments that we remember, alongside spotlighting the talent of female athletes.

As a result of these kinds of investment, attitudes towards women’s sports are experiencing accelerated growth. This is a catalyst for a cultural transformation in the region that fosters better lives through health, mental wellbeing and inclusivity.

The Aspire Academy in Qatar, another of WePlay’s clients, help strive towards this goal. Founded in 2004 to become ‘the world’s leading sports academy in the development of youth athletes.’ Their purpose to become the foundation of sports development for Qatari athletes is an investment in talent and will continue to revolutionalise how sport is viewed and engaged with.

Data from YouGov’s annual Sports Media Report paints a remarkable picture: nearly half (45 per cent) of UAE sports fans actively prefer to watch women’s sports over men’s.

This statistic is particularly encouraging when considering the UAE’s overall sports engagement, boasting the highest proportion (89 per cent) of consumers actively engaged with sports media compared to 18 global markets, far exceeding the global average of 67 per cent.

What have we learnt: The Role of Digital

Women Lead the way on Social Media

Globally, male fans tend to engage more with sports media across most channels, except on social media, where female fans lead the way.

With the UAE positioning itself as a hub for digital innovation in women’s sports, there’s a powerful opportunity for investors and brand partners to lean in. Investing in platforms tailored for female sports fans, featuring dedicated content, live streams, and event access, will be essential to maintaining and growing engagement.

Female audiences are highly active in online communities, where they not only connect over sports but also rally around shared values and purpose-driven initiatives. In Saudi Arabia, platforms like TikTok and Snapchat dominate among this demographic, highlighting the need to meet fans where they already spend their time.

Next Gen Is the Growth Engine

If you’re not speaking to Gen Z, you’re missing out on the engine of digital growth in the region. This generation craves representation, entertainment, and values-based content—especially narratives around sustainability and social impact.

Collaborating with local influencers is key. Micro and mid-tier creators with cultural relevance and credibility drive far more authentic engagement than broad, global campaigns.

Culturally Relevant Storytelling Matters

• Be intentional with tone, language, and imagery—cultural nuance is everything.
• Emotive, values-driven storytelling consistently performs best.
• Bilingual content is more effective—but don’t just translate. Transcreate to truly connect with local audiences.

At WePlay we are hugely excited to be at the forefront of these accelerators with our core proposition of unlocking fan value with an integrated approach to sports marketing helping to provide continued growth for our partners in Women’s Sport and in the Middle East.