MENA Sports Wrap: Palestine's U-20 women make history with first ever international trophy

Palestine's U-20 women defeated Jordan to be crowned West Asia champions following an impressive run during the Jordan-run tournament, while Morocco's U-17 boys have booked their place in the AFCON final, after a dramatic penalty shoot-out against Ivory Coast. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia said ownership of a Formula 1 team could be on the cards as interest in the sport grows.

Palestine's U-20 women make history with West Asia trophy

The Palestinian women’s U-20 football team made history after winning the 2025 West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Championship, following their defeat of Jordan on Saturday.

The squad is the first Palestinian women’s team across all age categories to win an international trophy, cementing their place in Palestinian football’s history and undoubtedly encouraging development in the sport for women and girls.

The side brought home glory after beating home favourites Jordan 4-2 in a dramatic penalty shoo-tout, following an initial 1-1 draw. Selina Ghneim scored the opening goal for the Palestinians early in the second half following a goalless first half. Jordan then equalised in the 76th minute. All Palestinian penalty takers bar one found the back of the net during the shoot-out, with Jordan failing to convert two out of four attempts.

The Palestinian team made it to the tournament’s final after playing against the likes of Syria, Kuwait and Jordan in the group stages.

In a remarkable game against Kuwait, the Palestinian ladies hammered nine goals in their opponent’s net, which featured a hattrick from striker Miral Qassis.

Palestine did lose to Jordan 3-0 in the group stage, making their tournament victory over their regional rivals all the more monumental.

The team’s victory is all the more significant due to the tragedies impacting the Palestinian territories, such as the war in Gaza and frequent deadly raids in the West Bank, triggering the suspension of Palestinian football.

"We are proud of ourselves because we play for Gaza. We play in the name of Palestine in the name of every mother that has lost her son, in the name of every martyr," player Malak Barakat said in a post-match interview.

Morocco U17 reach AFCON final after penalty shoot-out thriller

Morocco's U-17 team secured a place in the Africa Cup of Nations final with a dramatic 4-3 penalty shoot-out victory over the Ivory Coast at El Bachir Stadium in Mohammedia, following a goalless draw in regular time.

The young Atlas Cubs controlled much of the match, dominating the first half and creating several clear-cut chances, but were unable to convert them into goals.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with Morocco on the front foot but still lacking the finishing touch.

With the deadlock unbroken after 90 minutes, the match went straight to penalties, where Morocco kept their composure to edge past the Elephants.

They will now face Mali in the final, who secured their place following a 2-0 win over Burkina Faso earlier in the day.

Saudi Arabia showing interest in owning Formula 1 team

Saudi Arabia has set its eyes on owning a Formula 1 team after sponsoring the sport and hosting a Grand Prix, the chairman of the Gulf kingdom’s automobile and motorcycle federation said earlier this week.

Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal spoke of Saudi Arabia's interest in the sport ahead of the race taking place this coming weekend in Jeddah, on 20 April.

"It could happen, it could happen soon if you see the growth [of the sport]," he said.

"If you are going to buy a Formula 1 team then people will buy it to make money out of it, especially if it's going to be bought by one of the PIF [Saudi Public Investment Fund] companies."

Al-Faisal said it wasn’t “easy to know which team to buy and how it will be managed” but the interest is there.

"We're hosting Formula 1, sponsoring teams. So I wouldn't be surprised if we see an announcement for a Saudi team."

The country, which has been venturing in multiple sports in recent years, first hosted a Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2021, while energy giant Aramco is a global partner of the sport.

The Saudi PIF already has a stake in carmaker Aston Martin worth 20,5 percent, as well as McLaren.

This comes amid the growing presence of Gulf countries in the sport. Last week, Bahrain hosted Grand Prix, while Qatar was the location for the Moto GP over the same weekend.