PRESS RELEASE
IFA Sport has joined the Equal Playing Field Initiative as UAE Partner
Dubai | April 27 2017
In June 2017 two all-women football teams will battle out for 90 minutes on a football pitch built just below the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. If they succeed, they will break the Guinness World Record for the highest altitude football game ever played. The players, from more than nineteen countries, include former Canadian national Sasha Andrews, former German World Cup star Petra Landers, Afghan national Hajar Abufazl, South African Portia Modise, former FIFA World Cup referee Jacqui Hurford (née Melksham) and pro players or competitive amateurs from Argentina, France, Egypt, Jordan, Mexico, the UK, US and the United Arab Emirates. There are currently five players joining the team from the UAE, two of which are members of the IFA league.
As a strong supporter of women’s sport, IFA looks forward to contributing to the Equal Playing Field Efforts. Jessica Prelle, Head of girls & womens football at IFA, says “We’re very excited to partner up with EPF to further encourage and support girls and womens sport in the region and worldwide. At IFA we have a strong focus and passion to develop female football and offer programs for all ages where girls and women can join, no matter what age, nationality or level. By offering a fun but safe environment as well as a number of great pathways, girls can develop and improve in their own time.
Initiatives like EPF are a welcome development for sportswomen in the region - we are still fighting stereotyping in football, especially in the Middle East and it is time to break down these barriers.”
IFA will host the EPF Ladies Cup on May 19 which will include players from around the region and provide visibility to the initiative. It will also host a clinic after the climb in which the UAE EPF team can work with girls to improve not only their soccer skill but also provide them with mentorship and positive role models.
Through partnership with IFA, EPF looks forward to further expanding its network in the UAE and consequently, its positive impact. It is also continuing to pursue other partnerships and sponsorships in the country and region, specifically with entities dedicated to women in sport and interested in joining the world record-breaking team.
For more information about this initiative and how you can get involved, please see www.equalplayingfield.com or email equalplayingfield2017@gmail.com
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Maggie Murphy, Head of Communications |London UTC+1 |+44 751 7707 565 | mmurphyiw@gmail.com