Rosa Lappi-Seppälä, also known from the Helmareid coaching team, is the new head coach of the Saudi Arabian women’s national football team.
Finn Rosa Lappi-Seppälä has been chosen as the new head coach of the Saudi Arabian women’s national football team. The Saudi Arabian Football Association announced the Lappi-Seppälä agreement earlier today.
The contract is for one year. Lappi-Seppälä follows the German in the task Monika Staabiawho moves to the Saudi Arabian Federation as technical director responsible for women’s football.
Lappi-Seppälä, 48, has had a long and very international career in football. During his playing career, which ended in 2008, he represented several different teams in the Finnish premier league. In HJK, he won eight Finnish championships and five Finnish cups.
In addition, Lappi-Seppälä played e.g. In the American university league, in the Belgian Anderlecht and six seasons in the Italian Serie A in different clubs. He played 21 matches in the Finnish A national team.
As a coach, Lappi-Seppälä has worked in several women’s league clubs, as the head coach of the under-23 women’s national team and most recently as the head coach of the Finnish women’s A national team Anna Signeulin in the leading coaching team.
In addition, Lappi-Seppälä has worked at Pallloliito in marketing roles. He has also worked as an expert in the media.
Lappi-Seppälä has spent the beginning of the year in Saudi Arabia getting to know the local players, clubs and conditions. The Saudi Arabian Women’s League was established in 2020 and the national team in 2021.
In total, the national team has played six official international matches since February last year.
In January, the Saudi women’s national team took its most significant victories so far, when it defeated Mauritius 1–0 and Comoros 2–0 in the four-nation tournament organized in its home country. A 1–1 draw with Pakistan sealed the tournament victory for Saudi Arabia.
In March, Saudi Arabia is listed for the first time in the FIFA women’s national team ranking.
In addition to Lappi-Seppälä, the Saudi Arabian women’s coaching team includes a local assistant coach, a French physical trainer, a Norwegian goalkeeper coach and a Dutch video analyst.
Lappi-Seppälä’s contract with the Saudi Arabian federation lasts until the end of this year.