Ashleigh Plumptre, Super Falcons defender, says she feels safer living in Saudi Arabia than in the UK.
In a chat with the BBC, the 27-year-old English-born footballer described her stay in Saudi Arabia as a “peace bubble” compared to her country of birth.
Plumptre was born in Leicester, England, and rose through the ranks of Leicester City.
She spent three years with the club in the English Women’s Super League (WSL) before joining Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia in 2023.
In recent years, global human rights organisations have accused Saudi Arabia of repressing women’s rights and upholding discriminatory, unsafe laws against women.
However, Plumptre said she “can’t agree with some of the views the Western world has of this place”.
She added that a lot of “members of my family and friends” feel “safer here and calmer than in the UK”.
“A friend of mine who was out here, we described it as being like a peace bubble,” the Super Falcons defender said.
“I’ll give an example. I had been to the supermarket and I had all these bags. I live in a compound. I had to take all these bags into the elevator, so I left my car out with the door open, engine on, and keys in the car so I could take up my shopping.
“In the UK, I would never leave my car out with the keys in. Here, I have no problem.
“Naturally, everyone is a bit fearful walking around at night, but I don’t have to check my shoulder all the time. I know this is just the perspective of myself, not of everybody who lives here, but with the safety I feel I can’t agree with some of the views the Western world have of this place.”
Plumptre also added that her transfer to Al-Ittihad was based on “feeling” that it was the right place for her, not financial reasons.
“I had an hour-long call with the coach and two people in the management staff, and I said to Dad, ‘I have a really good feeling about this’,” she said.
“We barely even spoke about football, but about ourselves and what we were passionate about.
“I’m someone who goes off feeling and intuition. But I wanted to go out and visit – I wanted to see what it was really like. I visited for two days and really liked it, and when I left there I thought ‘this is where I want to be’.”
