Dead Sea match will see women footballers hit new heights in quest for Equal Playing Field

At invitation of HRH Prince Ali, female footballers from 20 countries gather in Jordan to play lowest altitude match less than 1 year after Guinness World Record match at top of Mt Kilimanjaro.

In less than one year, Equal Playing Field an initiative of female footballers from around the world will have two major feats under their belt. Last June they secured the Guinness World Record for the highest altitude football match ever played after two all-women teams battled it out at the top of Mt Kilimanjaro. After that high, now they are going low – trekking across Jordan and playing at a specially built pitch at the Dead Sea.

Under the patronage of HRH Prince Ali of Jordan, Equal Playing Field’s global network of players will gather in Jordan in March 2018 for a two-week celebration of women’s football and an arduous trek across the country’s famous desert cliffs and moonscapes. The players will play three exhibition matches across the country, as well as run four football camps for women and girls in rural and urban locations, against iconic UNESCO backdrops - from the temples and tombs of Petra to the columns of Jerash. As part of the Jordan Quest, they will share their love of the beautiful game and their spirit of adventure with up to a thousand women and girls who may never have taken a step onto a football field before.

The Equal Playing Field initiative is taking on this new challenge to open the door to the next generation and with the highest and lowest altitude matches ever played - show the great highs and lows that women and girls experience in simply trying to play the game they love.

“Sometimes you need simply to push the door open and let bravery and curiosity take hold. We want to open doors to women and girls in Jordan and across Asia and help them take their next step. Adventure and ambition should never be curbed. All girls deserve the chance to push their own limits, said Laura Youngson, Co-Founder of Equal Playing Field.

“We cannot wait for players from around the world to join us in Jordan, play in our most iconic locations and meet and inspire the thousands of women and girls. We know we will give the warmest welcome” said Yasmeen Shabsough, Co-organiser of the Jordan Quest, who played in the Kilimanjaro game last year.

EPF has received support from the Asian Football Development Project, USAID Building Economic Sustainability through Tourism project, Arab Potash, Zain Jordan and Migrate for the challenge, as well as partnering with not-for-profit organisations for the football clinics.