On June 14, millions of people across the globe will tune in to witness the opening match of the hotly anticipated 2018 World Cup, where Saudi Arabia will face off against the host nation, Russia. As if that’s not exciting enough, the Kingdom’s national team, the Green Falcons, will be led into the tournament by the first ever, all-female Saudi delegation. News of the record-breaking move comes one day after the Gulf country issued driving licenses to 10 female motorists, ahead of a reform lifting the ban on women driving from June 24.
The six Saudi girls, who are aged between 13 and 17 years old, were appointed to represent their country by the Coca-Cola Flag Bearers Program. Each girl was carefully handpicked for her ambitious contributions to society, success in her respective field, and for being a role model to the younger generation.
One of the flag bearers selected to lead Saudi Arabia’s national team on to the football pitch is Rayouf Alhumedhi, the 16-year-old who gave us the hijab-wearing emoji after she sent a seven-page proposal to Unicode Consortium, the governing board and non-profit organization behind the creation of new emojis. “I’m so proud that I and the other five girls will be representing millions of young men and women of our generation,” said Alhumedhi, who was christened one of Time Magazine’s most influential teens, in an accompanying video uploaded to the Coca-Cola Middle East YouTube account. “We are the image of the future and the image of change. I’m definitely looking forward to this experience and everything about it.”
Alhumedhi will be joined at the World Cup by Mariam Shalan, a professional free diver. “I’m happy and proud to be one of the six Coca-Cola flag bearers,” beamed Shalan in the video. “It’s an honor for me to represent Saudi Arabia at the FIFA World Cup in Russia.”
The Flag Bearers Program is part of Coca-Cola’s efforts to celebrate the landmark reforms sweeping the nation under Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s Vision 2030 plan. “Personally, it’s amazing to witness the change that’s happening to our country, to ourselves, to the youth, and to everyone,” reflects the young athlete.
The diverse line-up of flag bearers also includes the founder of Us The Youth organization, Rose Anne Khawaja, 15 year-old aspiring artist Ghayed AlWassiah, future science journalist Dana Altoaimi, and the first person of determination to become a Goodwill ambassador, Ghala Alshael.
Read This Next: Saudi Arabia Has Issued its First Driving Licenses to Women
