Player Profile | Nikki Riley, UK

Meet Nikki Riley from the UK – here she tells us what frustrates her about the way women athletes are portrayed in the media, how she’s been lucky to have had life choices that she knows are denied to others, and why she’s climbing Mt Kilimanjaro with Equal Playing Field.

Want to help Nikki break a world record? She’s also fundraising for our Egyptian star Esraa Awad. Sponsor them here: https://www.gofundme.com/equal-playing-field-kilimanjaro

I grew up in Nottingham, England. I played sports at school, but I wasn’t allowed to play football. The girls were only allowed to play netball and hockey, boys were allowed to play football and rugby. I hated all the sports I was “supposed” to play but I started playing football for a local girls’ team that my dad found when I was 10.

I never attended a pro-women’s football game until I was in my 20s as it wasn’t really something advertised. Come to think of it, I never watched any women’s sports -  all the live sports I was taken to see were men’s! It annoys me that there’s a bit of a stigma around women’s sport, that its seen as “not as good” or “the cheap option”. The coverage of women’s football in the UK has got better – but is still terrible.  When England played recently, I had to scroll through so many sports stories to find anything on the game! Ironic considering our women’s team are much more successful than our men’s at the moment!

And when women are profiled – they are often described in a derogatory way as though it’s a surprise that they are good at sport. Being first described as a “mother” or “wife of” or “ex model” rather than focussing on the fact that she is an athlete. They are often judged on their looks rather than their sporting performance. For men’s coverage, their sporting achievement comes first.

People say that the men’s game has a better atmosphere - this will only change when people are more open to watching women’s sport – but they can’t open up to the idea until there is better profile of women’s sport in the media.

In taking on this world record challenge, I hope to pave the way for my future children. My ten-year old niece is excited that I am climbing a mountain. She is a very girly girl and has joined the football and basketball teams at school and I don’t for one second think it has crossed her mind that she is playing a “boys” sport. This is how it should be, and I hope that won’t suddenly change. I have hope for the next generation. 

I believe women should have more choice in the way they live their life. I have been lucky enough to live in a society where I have been allowed to make my own choices. I recently married my wife, something that is frowned upon and illegal in many countries around the world. I am climbing this mountain for all the women who aren’t allowed freedom to be who they want to be in all aspects of their life.

If you would like to support Nikki to break a world record and inspire a new generation please donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/equal-playing-field-kilimanjaro

Player Profile | Petra Landers, Germany

Four time German champion and winner of the 1989 European Cup with the German National Team, Petra Landers brings a wealth of experience to our squad. She’s already broken one record by being in the first ever German women’s national football team in 1982 and here she tells us why she wants another record by climbing Mt Kilimanjaro with the Equal Playing Field squad.

If you want to support Petra break a world record and help her to continue to inspire girls around the world, please visit https://www.gofundme.com/petralanders

I was born in 1962, and grew up with my two sisters on a worker´s estate in Bochum, a city in western Germany. I discovered soccer when I was six years old. I played soccer on the streets and fields with the boys in the neighbourhood. My first team was all boys, I played there for two years. Looking back I realise that everything I did was a bit unusual for girls or women. I learnt crafts in the school with the boys instead of sewing with the girls, I played soccer with the boys instead doing gymnastic with the girls. Later on I did vocational training as motor mechanic.

But even in Germany, it wasn’t socially acceptable for us to play for a very long time. The German Football Association banned girls and women’s soccer until 1970. Even my own boss tried to stop me from representing my country in the European Championships in 1989. I tried to take holiday to play — but he blocked my request. It was only when I threatened to quit my job that he let me go. And soon after we were crowned European Champions!

This was the first time the German national women’s team won the European Cup. And do you know what we were awarded by the German Football Association? A coffee set.

Now whenever I meet girls or women who want to play soccer, I do what I can to support and motivate them. I used to focus on supporting girls in Germany to play soccer, but these days I support girls and women in Zambia. Through soccer their self-esteem grows, and that helps to improve their role in society.

In my opinion, equality brings self-esteem, freedom and respect. That’s why I try to support women and girls to fight for equality and I do that through sport.

When I played professionally there were days when the pressure was almost too much and it threatened to roll into my personal life too. But that’s when I thought — just one more round, I can do this. Fight for you, fight for the team, for family. Be strong and go forward. I am a fighter, in sport and in life.

To sponsor Petra, and help get her up the mountain — please go to https://www.gofundme.com/petralanders

Player Profile | Jacqui Hannon, USA

We are proud to welcome Jacqui Hannon from Connecticut, USA to the squad – she is an elementary grade teacher hoping to inspire her children to pursue their passions and stand up for causes they believe in. A former top flight athlete she tells us here why she is joining the Mt Kilimanjaor climb

If you would like to help Jacqui be an inspiration to her students, please support her here: https://www.gofundme.com/equalplayingfield Jacqui is also raising funds to cover players in the Equal Playing Field squad who are unable to raise funds to travel.

I grew up in Woodbury, a small town in Connecticut. Before I could even walk, my sister Liz, who is 11 years older than me, held my hands and helped me to kick a soccer ball around the house. When I was younger, I always wanted to do exactly what Liz was doing. Because she played soccer, so did I. Liz is one of the strongest women that I know. So, for me to be good at soccer, was to be as strong as she was. My love for soccer started with my sister but it soon took on its own meaning in my life.

Soccer was one of the first sports that I learned to play and I was a decent player because was naturally very fast. Growing up I was constantly racing the boys. At high school, I would stay after practice and race the members of the boys’ soccer team. It was always so funny to see the looks on their faces when I beat them! I played competitively up through high school but switched to track as a top flight athlete for Boston College. But even though I was dedicating myself to a new sport, soccer has always meant more to me.

It was while I was at Boston College that I began to realize that the playing field was not equal. I witnessed teammates and fellow female athletes struggle to master their sport and battle with the idea of femininity. I, and all of my teammates struggled to excel at our sport while maintaining high self-esteem and a positive body image.

The way that women are portrayed in the media makes it difficult for athletic girls to feel beautiful. The media is so much more likely to focus on a female athlete’s appearance than a male athlete. Soccer taught me how to loose with humility, work as a member of a team, lead my peers, and have confidence in myself.  Sport has also helped me to view myself as strong and be happy with being strong. I am taking on this challenge to prove to others that being strong is feminine and beautiful!

At this time in my life, equality means that no matter what your race, gender, status or background you are able to achieve at the same level as those who are of equal skills as you. Now I am an elementary school teacher with the goal of becoming a youth soccer coach. I involve my students in the journey up Mount Kilimanjaro and hope to open up their minds to the inequalities that exist in our society. I hope that I can show them that they can stand up for a cause they believe in, that they can make a difference and that they will obtain careers based upon their skills and not their backgrounds. I especially hope to empower the young girls I teach and coach to be strong and confident in themselves.

It is my hope that the students that I will teach and coach from here on will learn from my journey and realize that their actions and voices matter. My goal is to empower my students and fellow educators to pursue their passions - and to believe that to be feminine is to be strong.

Help Jacqui get to the top! Support her and her teammates here: https://www.gofundme.com/equalplayingfield

Referee Profile | Jacqui Hurford (Née Melksham), Australia

Jacqui joins us from Australia and is managing our referees squad! A professional referee she officiated the opening match at the 2011 World Cup in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin with a crowd of 74 000! Here she tells us what it’s been like as a woman in black and why she is climbing Mt Kilimanjaro to break a world record.

If you would like to sponsor Jacqui to help her inspire new generations of female referees please visit: https://www.mycause.com.au/page/146697/help-jacqui-get-to-kilimanjaro

When I saw a game of football for the first time aged 9, let’s just say it was love at first sight, I was hooked. By the following week I had my $2 second-hand boots on though I can still recall the coach’s first words to me: ‘If girls want to play football, they have to play in the backline’!

As a young female referee coming through the ranks of local football, there was a constant battle with the male players and the spectators. Essentially, they thought that a woman’s place was either in the kitchen or between a man’s legs. It takes strong will and a thick skin to deal with this week in, week out. Some battles you win, some you may lose. But it’s the love of the game that keeps me coming back.

I grew up in a single parent family. My mother is my biggest inspiration and the strongest person I know. From her I learnt how to be strong, stand on my own two feet, fight for what I believe in and hard work.

But I had really been struggling of late whether to continue my journey in this beautiful sport. Meeting like-minded women through Equal Playing Field showed me that I was not alone in the everyday fight for equality.

The main issue women officials have is similar to players - simply making a living. There is one full-time elite referee coach but he is dedicated to training the male referees. Meanwhile I have done that same role for the last two seasons with only a small amount of remuneration. I am essentially a volunteer. I am hoping that will change for the next season.

Equality for me is getting the same recognition, remuneration and respect that the men do at all levels. It will be a great day when we are all recognized as football players, referees, coaches etc. and gender does not come into it.

I have been lucky enough to see a lot of the world through football, with lots of laughs, adventures and new experiences along the way. I have met many fantastic people who have enriched my life in many ways. I hope when I instruct, coach and assess, I inspire the girls/women around me to be the best they can be. If I want change in this sport, it starts with me and I hope that has a domino effect on others.

Want to know more about Jacqui? See this interview with Football Brisbane https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d4moRT7jdA

Jasmine Henderson, USA joins the Equal Playing Field squad

Jasmine joins us from Los Angeles, California, where she most recently played for current National Champions, Santa Clara Blue Heat, and previously in Brazil. She tells us here what role soccer has played in her life and what she wants for her four-year-old son Paul. If you’d like to sponsor Jasmine and help her break a world record, please visit https://www.climbingmountpossible.com/

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and can still remember the look on my parents’ faces when, at 5 years old, I told them I wanted to play soccer, just like my older brother. I was deep into Barbies, the color pink and my mother’s make-up at the time.

I always enjoyed playing with the boys. But even though as I was as good as them, it was never okay in the yard to get beat by me. Many years later my second ACL injury happened at a co-ed tournament when a man wanted pay-back for when I’d beasted him off the ball. He fouled me hard. I cried. But not because of the pain. I cried that because of his hurt ego, I would be out of the game for 6-9 months with another road to recovery ahead. I was 22.

“On the field, I get a window into who I truly am and can take that into any area of my life.”

I’ve had many setbacks and my dreams have often cracked. It took me a while to remember the power I have within. I just needed to remember to believe.

Soccer absolutely changed my life. With soccer, I got to really see who I am and chisel away at myself to reveal what else is available. It has taught me so many life lessons. On the field, I get a window into who I truly am and can take that into any area of my life.

My family is amazing. They are and have always been so supportive. On the other hand, guys I have dated haven’t supported me when I’ve gone through selection processes or tried to pursue my career, ending things when I said that I wanted to play professionally or take it to the next level.

I have experienced adversity in sport, but even more so in becoming a single mother. I have experienced and witnessed the immense responsibility that is placed on a woman simply because she is the vessel carrying the child. My four-year-old son, Paul changed my life for the better in every way. Yet there were things that I had to go through and that many women go through that can cause us to question our worth or value.

I want my son Paul, who has autism, to live a life where he sees that ANYTHING is possible, no matter who you are, where you came from or what your current situation is. Anything is possible at any moment. I would love to pass on that my label as a “single mom,” as a “woman,” as an “American,” as a “mixed-raced” person or as a “soccer player” doesn’t define me. I am limitless, and so is he.

Climbing up this mountain and breaking this world record might be the inspiration that someone, male or female, boy or girl, is seeking so that they can climb their own mountain in life and do things they thought, or were told were impossible. It also shows what is possible when we are united – united as women and united as a people.

Want to sponsor Jasmine and help her break a world record? Sponsor her here: https://www.climbingmountpossible.com/