AMMAN
— Ever since she was little, Raghad Massaid, 14, has been passionate about
football, but these days, she is disheartened. The girl who once dreamed of playing
with Jordan’s national women’s football team “has no motivation to keep on
playing”, according to her father, Khaled Massaid.
اضافة اعلان
Sitting next
to her at their home in Manshiet Al-Sulta, a town in the northern governorate
of Mafraq, her mother, Amal Shurufat, said that it was not common for girls to
play football with boys in the street. She told Jordan News that people
advised her against letting her daughter play, but she did not listen and told
them “we trust Raghad”.
The minute
her father saw her talent, he knew he would support her journey. He was only
concerned about her safety because girls had “nowhere to play” at the time.
Khaled admitted that one of her older brothers objected at first, but later
changed his mind as “there was nothing shameful about playing sports”. Thanks
to media coverage of female football players, people’s attitudes started
changing, as they accepted that football is not exclusive to males.
In 2011,
Nader Sharaa, Raghad’s trainer and a former football player himself, founded his
own football training academy in the town and leased a playground owned by the
municipality. Years later, he started training girls, inviting Raghad and her
female peers to join the academy. They formed the first and only girls’ team in
the governorate.
In a phone
interview with Jordan News, Sharaa said that women’s traditional role in
his local community has changed, but some stereotypes remain intact. While a woman
“may become an engineer or a lawyer ... people do not accept that she can
become an athlete, a national team player, or an Olympics player.” In his
opinion, many organizations have worked with girls from the local community,
but they haven’t conveyed the right message to their families that “continuity”
is key to their success.
Due to the
outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, all sports’ activities in Mafraq came to a
halt. While Raghad, who studied online, said she had more free time to play,
her official trainings at the academy were suspended. “I used to take her to
the empty playground, she would run and play on her own,” said Khaled.
According to
her trainer, the sports’ sector is a “very sensitive” one that was hit hard by restrictions,
given that it requires physical contact. He added that the academy is funded by
private donations, and has a small budget that barely covers rent, electricity,
uniforms, and other necessary expenses to train boys and girls in his town.
While he was
able to finally resume training for boys a few months ago, Sharaa said he needs
some time “to bring the girls back”. He is aware, though, that Raghad and around
45 other female players need an opportunity that their governorate does not
offer.
According to
Sharaa, Mafraq has tens of football clubs, but none has a female football team.
These girls “are waiting for an entity to support them and form a young women’s
team”, said Sharaa, who bet that should they find this support, he can “present
a team that qualifies for the women’s world cup in ten years’ time”.
Sharing the
captain’s concerns, Khaled’s eyes are set on Amman, where clubs that “nurture
female talents” are located. He said that “they may say Amman’s clubs are far,
but the distance is not an issue as long as she is affiliated with an official
entity”. He stressed that he “will never stand in Raghad’s way”, hoping his
children would achieve a dream he once had but could not pursue.
In the early
nineties, Khaled sought to join an official football club, but he was a member
of the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) and could not be affiliated with any club
as per the regulations at the time.
“I regret it
because I found out that sports were not only a talent, but also an economic
opportunity on a global level. If I had made it, my whole life might have changed.
I might have become a professional player abroad,” said Khaled.
Raghad’s trainer
can also relate.
Although he
was born to a Jordanian mother, Sharaa has lived his entire life in Jordan as a
“stateless” person. He hails from a tribe that depended on livestock for their
livelihoods and did not value citizenship at the time. Unlike his paternal
uncles, his father did not seek the Jordanian citizenship when it was granted
by the state to other relatives. When he was young, he worked hard to join the national
team, unaware that his legal status would be a barrier. Although he was
technically competent for the team, the “10-digit” number he did not have was
necessary.
He quit
playing football but continued to train young boys and girls and encourage them
to pursue their dreams.
“I don’t
want what happened to me to happen to any of the people I know,” said Sharaa.
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