IFA Sport Joins Women’s World Record-Breaking Team

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

Hoorag to provide Equal Playing Field athletes with gear ahead of record climb

PRESS RELEASE

Players will stay protected from the sun and dirt whilst looking good!

London/Amman/Melbourne | April 27 2017

Equal Playing Field is grateful to receive latest in-kind support from US company Hoorag – helping us to climb Mt Kilimanjaro in June, keeping hair out of eyes, sun off our faces and moisture at bay. Find out more about Hoorag here.

Veronica of Hoo-rag said, "We are especially pleased to support such a fantastic journey knowing that it will help continue forging the path for equality and balance between genders in a way that stretches across several cultures.  We are excited to see what becomes of their quest as they head out for adventure!"

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Maggie Murphy, Head of Communications |London UTC+1 |+44 751 7707 565 | mmurphyiw@gmail.com

Aspire Underwriting Agency proud to kit out Equal Playing Field record-breakers

PRESS RELEASE

London/Amman/Melbourne | April 23 2017

Equal Playing Field welcomes the financial support provided by Aspire Insurance to kit out the players as they attempt a world record breaking soccer match at the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro in June. Players from almost 20 nationalities including ten national team players will step out on a temporary pitch at more than 18,000 ft in kit provided by Aspire.

Mark Jeffrey, CEO of Aspire Underwriting Agency said Aspire are proud to be associated with initiatives that reach out in a pro-active manner to create awareness of inequalities, prejudices and injustices that still exist in society”

For more information on the record-breaking attempt, see www.equalplayingfield.com.

There remain a number of sponsorship opportunities. For more details please contact equalplayingfield2017@gmail.com 

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Erin Blankenship, Co-Founder | Amman UTC+3 | +962 7 9836 5212 | erinebsa@gmail.com

Maggie Murphy, Head of Communications |London UTC+1 |+44 751 7707 565 | mmurphyiw@gmail.com

Equal Playing Field players to rock WackySox up Mt Kilimanjaro

Socks will make teams stand out at top of Mt Kilimanjaro during world record attempt in June.

London/Amman/Melbourne | April 25 2017

Equal Playing Field is grateful to receive in-kind support from UK company WackySox – protecting our feet with designs as crazy as our world record breaking challenge! Find out more about WackySox here.

Keith Grainger Managing Director of WackySox said “As a business we promote the involvement in and enjoyment of sport at whatever level irrespective of your ability, age, gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs or sexuality”. We are proud to say that all our hats and socks are made here in Great Britain and we are also proud to support The Equal Playing field project which is making a huge statement on a global platform. We wish them every success in promoting equal opportunities in sport for all everywhere around the world”.  

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Maggie Murphy, Head of Communications |London UTC+1 |+44 751 7707 565 | mmurphyiw@gmail.com

Player Profile | Hajar Abulfazl, Afghanistan

Meet Hajar Abulfazl, Afghan national team player and coach of the Under-19s. She describes how important her family has been to realizing her dreams and what she hopes she can achieve for other women and girls through her efforts, including taking part in this world record-breaking challenge.

Want to help Hajar get up Mt Kilimanjaro and inspire the next generation? Visit www.startsomegood/equalplayingfield  

I was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. My family had to leave the country because of war, When the war finished, we returned to Kabul where I started playing football at school, aged 14. After playing in several tournaments, I was selected for the national team in 2008. I am a former captain of the team, head of the women’s and finance committees for the Afghanistan Football Federation, and currently coach the Under-19s team. I am also a proud Athlete Ambassador for Shirzanan, a Muslim Women Sports Advocacy group.

I’m dedicated to female empowerment through sports and try to speak with girls and to the media as often as possible to raise awareness for the human right and benefits of participation. As a recent medical school graduate, I emphasize the health and social implications.

I co-founded Tawana Youth Development Organization (TYDO), which organizes school visits and sports festivals to promote sports among girls in the country. I love coaching Tawana where I have 18 players practicing three times a week. In rural areas, it’s much more difficult for girls to play -  often because of instability in the country. Parents want to keep the girls home and protected.

But, girls are also kept off the playing field because their parents and brothers maintain conservative views that sports are for boys, girls are weak, and girls should stay home. Every day, I hear a new story about girls giving up their dreams to play – or sometimes even go to school – because they don’t have support.

My family was different. I am part of a big family, the third of eight sisters and four brothers. I have been lucky to have siblings and parents who support, encourage and protect me - and that includes my football activities. Despite cultural taboos, my father and mother let me play and talk to media as a role model to other girls and to their parents. We show them that sports are positive for the individual, family, and society by making girls stronger and productive.

I hope for a future where barriers and discrimination don’t kill the dreams of women and girls worldwide. There’s a long way to go to influence gender norms and gain the support of men and boys who recognize their sisters, daughters and wives all deserve equal opportunities.

Equality to me means women and men with equal freedom to think, to make decisions, to choose the path of our own lives, and to seek our own achievements. Equality means women being allowed to be the champion and superstar of their own lives.

Football enriched my life. It taught me discipline and commitment, success and failure. Because of football, I have traveled around the world and participated in multi-national and cross-cultural exchanges like the Equal Playing Field Initiative. I have been able to learn and contribute to peace and understanding through sports.
 

I am so excited and honored to unite and unify with the great, diverse Equal Playing Field international team climbing Mt Kilimanjaro.

If you would like to support Hajar break a world record and inspire a new generation please donate here www.startsomegood/equalplayingfield   

To find out more about the challenge, please go to www.equalplayingfield.com