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A hotly contested battle between two all-female teams composed of players from countries as diverse as Afghanistan, France and Nepal ended 4-2 but the women walked away with a second world record under their belt.
The game, on a specially constructed pitch sponsored by HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein at the lowest point on earth (-320 metres) accompanies their Guinness World Record for the highest altitude match, played at 5714m in the crater at the top of Mt Kilimanjaro just nine months ago.
The intensity was set at high-level from the first 5 minutes when Tunisian striker Sabrine Mamay scored from the edge of the box for the Black Irises. American pro striker Ashley Hall added a second in the 17th minute, before Bahrain national player Deena Rahman and former US pro Kim Smith netted for the White Tigers to bring the game back to 2-2 in a thrilling first half. In the second half, the Black Irises were first to break deadlock, when Nepal national player Laxmi Paudel slotted in a third for the Black Irises inside the box. Pakistan national team captain Hajra Khan ended the White Tigers hopes in the last ten minutes, scrambling the ball past keeper Jude Shanti, who put in a phenomenal performance coming on as substitute midway through the first half.
The players walk away with a World Record but leave behind a legacy in Jordan. The match was the culmination of a two-week initiative to promote gender equality in sport. The players trekked more than 90km across the country and shared their love of the beautiful game with hundreds of girls through a series of exhibition games and football camps. At the end of the game, HRH Prince Ali named the pitch the “Equal Playing Field pitch” to ensure the legacy lives on.
“I thought the game was wonderful” said HRH Prince Ali. “Finally the record has been broken. For this pitch – which is in quite an underprivileged place in the country – to be a legacy for Equal Playing Field and to hand it over to the local community is a wonderful thing as well”.
“It was great to play a competitive game of football on a top-quality pitch” said Laura Youngson, Co-Founder of Equal Playing Field. “We were able to showcase the best of women’s football with our team of strong female athletes from around the world. It was humbling to see the size of the crowd and to inaugurate the community pitch with a world record match”.
Players included Jordan’s top goal-scorer Farah Azab, former Jordan captain Luna Sahoul, former French National Sandrine Dusang, Afghanistan captain Shabnam Mobarez as well as pro players and competitive amateurs from the USA, Spain, India, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Tanzania, Australia, the UK and many more.
