Adwa AlArifi serves as the Deputy Minister of Strategic Planning and Investment at the Ministry of Sport and is a board member of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee. She is a direct strategic support to the Minister of Sport and oversees a diverse range of vital initiatives and flagship international events to drive forward the nation’s efforts to promote sports and healthy living.
Academically, Adwa obtained her BS in Business Administration Al Yamamah University, Riyadh. However, sport has always been the main source of inspiration and driving force in her life from an early age and she has already served the Saudi sports sector for more than 18 years. She is considered a pioneer of women’s football in the Kingdom, known for taking historic first steps in the game as a co-founder of Saudi Arabia’s first women’s football club in 2006 and then first community Women’s Football League in 2008.
Her dedicated support to football has continued for over a decade. She became the first female board member of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) in 2018 and was integral to the creation of the Women’s Football Department at SAFF 2019. It has since established four female national teams, two professional women’s leagues and a schools’ league with over 70,000 girls playing each week.
Since 2019 Adwa’s professional work has had a positive impact far greater than a single sport or gender. Her roles have helped support millions of Saudis progress in sport, starting first as the General Director of the Investments Department at the Ministry of Sport. Working with colleagues, she helped to develop the National Sports Sector Strategy, the guiding light for the future of sports across the Kingdom. Other key initiatives during her tenure included the Clubs Support Strategy and Federations Transformation Strategy.
In 2020 she was promoted to Deputy Minister of Strategic Planning & Investment and has since helped to welcome the private sector into Saudi sport. While in 2022 she was appointed to an additional role of Assistant Minister of Sport Affairs. In this role, she oversees and delivers on all international events, stadia, sport & youth affairs and MOS branches around the kingdom. In a senior role she delivered notably firsts such as the first Formula-E Diriyah E-Prix 2018, first Saudi Arabian Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2021, first ATP Tennis Next Gen 2023 and first ever FIFA Club World Cup 2023.
Beyond her direct duties in the Ministry, Adwa holds significant roles such as being a Board Member at the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, where she sits on the Women’s Committee. Amongst several board roles, she also serves on the Olympic Council of Asia’s Women Committee, Trojena 2029 Winter Asian Games Committee, Saudi Games Committee and is an Executive Committee Member of the Mahd Academy.
Adwa also sits on the Steering Committees for some of Saudi Arabia’s most exciting bids to host major sporting events, including the FIFA World Cup 2034, having successfully helped steer bid wins for AFC Asian Cup 2027 and Asian Games Riyadh 2034.