Jordan girls take to football pitch to end stereotypes

EYEING SUCCESS: Line, a member of Jordan’s under-17 national female football team, trains with her teammates in the capital Amman. (AFP)

AMMAN: Line’s dream is about to become a reality, the 14-year-old Jordanian girl will make history later this year when she takes part in her first ever football world cup.
FIFA’s U-17 Women’s World Cup will kick off on Sept. 30 in Jordan, the first time a Middle Eastern country hosts an international women’s football competition.
Line and 20 other girl footballers, including devout Muslims their heads covered by a scarf, have been practicing hard for the tournament with a British coach.
“Here in Jordan... it was frowned upon to see a girl play football. But now things have changed,” Line said.
She still remembers how she defied social conventions in the kingdom when at a younger age she decided to join the boys of her neighborhood in a game of football.
For decades football was hands off for women but that changed in 2005 when the Jordanian federation — headed by Prince Ali, a half-brother of King Abdullah II — formed the first national female team.
Ali, an ex-vice president of FIFA who ran but failed to be elected president of football’s world governing body, is credited with having helped Jordan’s bid to host the under-17 girls’ tournament.
In May, FIFA said on its website that the first Jordanian women players who took to the pitch more than a decade ago “have impressed” and “did not disappoint.”
British coach Robbie Johnson is confident that the under-17 girls team will shine at the upcoming world cup.
“This particular group are certainly keen to make a mark and certainly put the Middle East on the map,” Johnson told AFP as he worked the girls on one practice night.
“It can be definitely the start of something to say to women, particularly in the Middle East or in the Gulf states as well: Look you can actually play and compete,” he said.
The girls’ training for the big day is tough.
Line — a striker — and teammates listen carefully as the coach details his strategy with specific instructions to the wingers and goalkeepers, while parents sit back and watch the practice unfold.
“My goal is to get these players as competitive as possible and then who knows what may happen,” said Johnson.