Female Players make World Record Attempt for Highest Altitude Football Match Ever

In the game of their lives, female footballers from countries as diverse as Afghanistan, Argentina and the UK will attempt to play a full 90-minute, 11-a-side regulation game, officiated by female FIFA referees at a height of 18,800 ft (5730m).

If they succeed they set the record for the highest altitude football game ever played– almost 2km higher than the highest stadium in the world. The initiative will be covered and publicised by a team of award-winning filmmakers and official media partner BeIN Sports.

The Equal Playing Field initiative seeks to challenge the inequalities women face in football and sport more widely and inspire new generations of female athletes.

“Playing a football match at this altitude has never been done before. We want to break a record to inspire other women and girls to keep challenging existing inequalities in sport” said Co-founder Laura Youngson.

The World Record match is part of Equal Playing Field’s “Altitude Football Project”, in partnership with Football for Peace (FFP), an organisation that uses football as a tool to drive social change. Together the organisations seek to challenge the inequalities women face and promote the development of the game, through a series of training clinics with local teams and partners in 15 countries over the next two years in the lead up to the 2019 Women’s World Cup.

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FFP Co-Founder and international footballer – Kashif Siddiqi, said “sport can play a great role to challenge current mind-sets, create a positive impact and better opportunities of the next generation of women.”

The international Equal Playing Field squad will play a warm-up match against a select Tanzanian women’s team on Saturday June 17 in Arusha, Tanzania, the day before the squad starts the climb.

Taking part will be former Lionness, Rachel Unitt, one of the most capped England players in all time, who represented England in three UEFA Championships, two FIFA World Cups and was inducted into the English Football Hall of fame last year.

Rachel Unitt joins a diverse set of players that include two time Olympic Gold medallist and twice World Cup winner Lori Lindsey (USA), former German star Petra Landers, former Mexico captain Monica Gonzalez, Former Fulham FC and Bahrain national, Deena Rahman, Canadian national Sasha Andrews, Afghan nationals Zahra Mahmoodi and HajarAbufazl, French national Sandrine Dusang, ScottishFIFA World Cup referee Morag Pirie and pro players, competitive amateurs and FIFA officials from Argentina, France, Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon, Nepal, Rwanda, Sweden, Tanzania, the UK, US and the United Arab Emirates.

(Image top: Football for Peace Co-Founder Kashif Siddiqi with Laura Youngson (in the middle) and Maggie Murphy, training in Shepherd’s Bush).