Manama: The Saudi Arabia Football Federation will make arrangements to allow female fans of Australian team Western Sydney Wanderers to attend the second leg of the final of the Asian Champions League in Riyadh next month, a federation spokesperson has said.

“There are regulations by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) that apply to all national federations,” Adnan Al Muaibid said. “The Asian and the international federations are in charge of any football match under their umbrella and, whatever rules they decide, we in the Saudi federation apply.

“If such regulations allow women supporters to attend matches, there will be special arrangements. Women supporters did attend football matches in Saudi Arabia before,” he said in remarks published in local daily Al Sharq on Monday.

Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal will host the Wanderers on November 1 for the second leg of the continental decider. The first leg will be played on October 25 in Sydney.

AFC regulations state that fans, regardless of their gender, are allowed access to stadiums.

“On entering the competition, the club shall automatically undertake in their capacity as the hosting club, to guarantee that access to the stadium will be granted to the AFC delegation, officials and players of the visiting club, sponsors, travelling fans and media without any discrimination of gender, race and nationality,” the AFC Champions League regulations state.

However, the regulations do not overrule a country’s national legislation.

“Regulations and religious teachings in the country have special considerations and we are waiting for official guidance about the case,” Khalid Al Aqeel, manager of the King Fahad Stadium, where the match will be played, said.

“There are precedents and international matches held in the cities of Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam have witnessed the presence of women among the supporters of visiting teams.”

Australian media last week said “a section of Western Sydney Wanderers supporters may be denied a chance” to watch the match and “there was no guarantee female supporters will be granted entry visas into Saudi Arabia.”

However, a spokesperson for the Western Sydney Wanderers said that arrangements were being worked out to overcome any difficulties over granting visas, especially to single women, to enter Saudi Arabia.

“There needs to be an invitation. We are working with the FFA [Football Federation of Australia], AFC, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation and Al Hilal to obtain an invitation for our supporters to travel,” a Wanderers spokesman said, quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald.

Saudi Arabia has been witnessing wide-ranging political, social and economic reforms that included a bold empowerment of women and a greater presence at public events since King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud assumed power in August 2005.

Seen as a champion of women’s rights, the king has appointed 30 women to the Shura, the advisory council, in a historic breakthrough for Saudi society. And ambitious economic plans that weathered challenging storms from conservative segments of the society have enabled thousands of local women to find employment in the private sector.