Jordan is scoring some amazing goals by being the host of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup this coming September! This is the first FIFA women’s tournament ever to be hosted in the Middle East! This is considered a tremendous move for Jordan’s female soccer players, given that there are only 720 in the entire country of a population over 6.4 million people.
This tournament is actually a great moving point for all the female football players of the Middle Eastern region. “This World Cup will raise the profile of women’s football and women’s sports in general. It will send a message that will hopefully ripple across the region – one of girls’ and women’s empowerment and of using football as a platform for social change,” says Samar Nassar, the CEO of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Local Organising Committee.
In Jordan, the development of women’s football has come a long way in a very short period. However, getting this sport to be embraced by the country and the region wasn’t easy. It required a change of mindset and a scream for gender equality and female empowerment. “Women’s football only started in Jordan in 2005, and still we’re one of the pioneers in west Asia,” says the coach of the U-17 national team, Maher Abu Hantash. Since the establishment of Jordan’s Women’s Football National Team in 2005, schools in Jordan have been encouraging their girls to join teams.
FIFA and the Jordan Football Association (JFA) are working together to make sure that this event leaves a profound long-term impact on the development of the country’s women’s football teams.
A player of this game is a chess piece in the female empowerment movement. Each and every one of them becomes a role model for all other females, encouraging them to break social barriers and be the best they can be!
We can call check-mate this September and don’t forget to leave a smile!
