Soccer

Bahrain plans to begin giving women free admission to soccer games:

"Females will be admitted free of charge to all Bahrain football stadiums when the sporting season opens next week, a spokesperson for the company sponsoring the matches has said.

"The decision, the first of its kind in the Gulf countries, aims to boost the number of women at the top-flight games, which have traditionally been limited to male spectators.

"While female sports fans welcomed it as a new step towards greater equality in a country that has one of the most liberal policies towards women in the region, opponents said it would neither boost attendance nor improve the quality of the game."