Lowest altitude women football game to take place on April 5

AMMAN —  The women football match to be held at the Dead Sea next month will "send a message to change society's perceptions about women’s sports" and raise the standards expected from female athletes, said Erin Blankenship, the co-founder of the Equal Playing Field (EPF). 

During a press conference held in Amman on Monday, EPF unveiled the date of their football game to be held at the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, located over 400 metres below sea level.

The first of its kind worldwide, the match will be held also ahead of the coming Women Asian Cup to take place in the Kingdom next month.  

“Jordan is hosting the biggest women competition in Asia, involving the top teams from the continent such as China, Japan, Australia and Jordan,” Blankenship said.  

Last June, EPF set the Guinness World Record for the highest women football match ever played after two all-women teams competed at the top of Kilimanjaro.

Haneen Khateeb, who will be among the Jordanian female footballers, recalled when she and her teammate Yasmeen Shabsough were the only Jordanian women to participate in the Kilimanjaro match. 

“It was amazing to know that HRH Prince Ali was proud of us. Then, we also learned that we achieved something not only for our names but also for all fellow women,” she added. 

A pitch has been constructed at the Dead Sea under the directives of HRH Prince Ali, in order to host the historic match. It will later be available for the area's residents, Khateeb noted.  

Ahead of the Cup, women footballers will play three exhibition matches across the country under the patronage of Prince Ali, in addition to running four football camps for women and girls in rural and urban locations, according to a statement by the organisers. 

Khateeb noted that 30 women from 22 countries will take part in this project, which will cover six areas around the Kingdom. 

Besides challenging gender inequality in sports, EPF also aims to feature positive female role models, especially in countries where women’s participation in sport remains a taboo, and to encourage social acceptance as athletes through football.