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Women on the ball

The World Cup kicked off yesterday - but it's not just the men who'll be keeping track of the scores.

Meet some ladies who are working hard to develop the local - and international - scene for female fans of the beautiful game

They've got their flags ready, and their lucky tees. Their social calendar will, for the next 30 days, without question, revolve around the schedule of games drawn up by FIFA - even if that means staying out late on weekday nights to watch the live stream at the local café. They're completely stoked that the World Cup is finally here, and if you even think of changing the channel while a game is on, prepare to incur their deep displeasure. No, we're not talking about football-crazed men. It's the female fanatics in the country we're training our sights on - the ones who get out 3-4 nights a week to play the game and who have spent the last decade or so developing, or being part of, the local scene. They're madly passionate about the subject - and can talk your ear off about it, given the chance. And no, you won't have to explain what an 'offside' is to them.

Gone are the days when football could be referred to as the game with "22 grown men running after a ball". In the last decade, women's football has been developing in leaps and bounds on the local scene. Where once you could barely find information online if you were a gal interested in a kickabout, today, there are local associations a dime a dozen. And that's thanks, for the most part, to a few women who took it upon themselves to break down the obstacles tripping up the evolution of football for the fairer sex in the Middle East.

'FOOTBALL IS MY LIFE': Jessica Prelle runs the UAE's largest girls' and women's league (Photo credit: Neeraj Murali)

Getting things rolling

Jessica Prelle is one such trailblazer. The 35-year-old started out looking for a place to play, when she moved to the UAE in 2005. Today, she runs the largest women's and girls' leagues in the country. As head of women's football at IFA Sport, she admits she barely has time for anything apart from football - a status quo she's more than okay with. "Football is my life," she states. "It's my 'happy place'... I can have a terrible day, but when I get out onto the pitch, I can forget everything else. So yes, I'm pretty busy - my calendar is pretty much sorted till December! - but I choose to have it this way."

Getting the ball rolling on setting up a league was challenging at multiple levels. Stereotyping was easily one of the biggest hurdles to cross. "I'd attend open days at schools where parents would come in with their kids... They'd sign the boy up for football, but insist the girl enrol for dancing or ballet," recalls Jessica. Contrary to public perception back then (which, if we're being honest, hasn't entirely ceased to exist today), the German-English expat argues football is not a 'masculine' sport. "It's a contact sport, yes - but it's not a dirty or rough sport, like rugby, where you're tackled and on the floor. There's a reason we don't wear helmets," she points out. "Any injuries are only the result of a scrape or twisted ankle etc. It's not American football!"

The only 'tackling' she does is with misconceptions - something that can be seen in the way she schedules sessions for different age groups. "I intentionally set them up back-to-back, so that when the youngest kids wrap up their training, they see the 13- to 17-year-olds come on to the pitch; and by the time those kids are done, they see us older women walk in," says Jessica. "What that tells them is that they don't have to stop playing once they turn 15."

EYES ON THE PRIZE: Houriya Hussain AlTaheri is the UAE's first Emirati female football coach and currently heads the national team

Kicking off the movement

What's changed over the years is that there are more role models for young girls to look up to these days, says Houriya Hussain AlTaheri. The 32-year-old should know - she's one of them. A former national team player, Houriya holds the honour of being the UAE's first Emirati female football coach - a role she currently combines with her positions as executive member of the UAE Women's Football Committee and technical director of women's football at Abu Dhabi Sports Council. "There are many names in women's football that young girls can look up to today; they see them on TV and follow them on social media. They need role models so they know there is a future."

Houriya has learnt that nothing is impossible and her game plan is to transfer that conviction to the next generation so they can "not just believe it - but be part of it themselves". It was Australian coach Connie Selby that inspired her to complete her coaching certification, telling her, "[Expat] coaches will come and go, but you will stay. Your country needs you to help develop the local football scene." So great is Houriya's dedication to the cause now that she travels from Abu Dhabi everyday after work at 5.30pm to coach the national team in Dubai - and has done so since 2013. But she says the commute doesn't take much of a toll on her simply because of her love for the game.

The hard work has been paying off - and the results have been carving pathways through closed minds. "This is my advice to women: educate yourself so you can confidently stand before people," says Houriya, who even coached a men's team at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament this year. "Then, even if they don't agree with your job, they'll still respect you when they see you know what you're doing."

The other thing that's changed for the better in recent years is the increased support of families in encouraging their girls to play. Culturally, this tends to be frowned upon - more so in the Middle East and the subcontinent, than other parts of the world. "But thanks to the school and community events we've been hosting, parents are happier to get involved and see their girls playing regionally, and even internationally," says the pioneer, who credits her family's unwavering support with where she is today, and whose life story has been documented in a book published late last year called Becoming A Legend.

GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED: Shazeen Khan is a fervent Manchester United fan

Planting seeds

Sometimes, seemingly small shows of support can be all it takes to change the course of a life. Pakistani-American expat Shazeen Khan has just returned to Dubai, having completed a Master's degree in sports management from New York. She tells of growing up in Pakistan, and how her parents shifted her from a local school there to an American one so she could continue playing various sports. The 28-year-old is not sure she'd have pursued a sports-related career without the opportunites made available to her. That's not to say there wasn't a concerted effort to diversify her interests. "I was exposed to multiple pursuits," she says. "Somehow, football is the one that took off - and anyone that had a problem with it eventually grew out of it."

Passion loves company and Shazeen, who didn't have football-loving girlfriends when she was growing up, is grateful for the diverse group of women she's met through sports clubs here, with whom she can go out and watch a game or discus the latest in the world of football with - when they're not playing, of course. What's more, she's currently working on exploring avenues to grow the football scene for girls in Pakistan. It's a daunting road ahead, dealing with cultural restrictions and gender stereotypes. But she's finding the latter is not restricted to her home country alone. "Just the other day, I told off a friend for reposting a very sexist 'letter to women' on Facebook on what they can and cannot expect from their men during the World Cup," she says. "It was just reinforcing all the old stereotypes about women not understanding football, when so many of us do. The problem is you may be posting them as 'a joke', but you're also reinforcing those ideas and adding to the problem."

Not just a 'guy' thing

It's time to blow the whistle on these dated typecasts - and not without reason. Ask Shazeen, a diehard Manchester United fan, if she allows the games to consume her - like they're known to do with guys - and she laughs. "My family would say yes, because I'd be in a really bad mood every time my team lost - but. I've gotten better!" Houriya can make a strong case for why she believes Egypt - who've qualified for the 2018 World Cup for the first time since 1990 - will perform well at the games, irrespective of what the end results may be.

Also, it's not just guys who need to 'wear their lucky underpants' or 'sit on the right side of the couch' in superstitious bids to help their teams win. Jessica admits she has little quirks she follows, albeit not "super-religiously". For instance, she has two match shirts: she needs to wear the one with the printed badge, not the stitched one, for games. She also likes to be ready and kitted out "very early" (read: at least an hour) before a game, much to the bemusement of her coach, and tells of other teammates who "need to" chew gum or have a cup of tea before they get out onto the pitch.

Oh, and there will be no 'football widows' in her social circle (a term that refers to women who feel their relationships have 'died', thanks to husbands who become too engrossed in the games during football season). It's the sporting event of the year, and Jessica and her girlfriends have no plans to watch it from the sidelines. "I'll be yelling at the TV just as much as the next guy in the room," she promises.

THE WOMEN'S FOOTY-SUPPORTING FACILITIES AROUND TOWN THAT ARE #GOALS

Expat Football Association - Open to all nationalities across the Emirates, the EFA caters to 5, 6, 7 and 11-a-side football. The leagues offer professional elements of the sport, but also kicks up a fair bit of fun with their mock press conferences and transfer windows. Available at multiple locations across New Dubai. (www.efadubai.com)

IFA Sport - Their Girls Academy proudly touts themselves as the largest in the UAE at the moment - as is their Women's League. What's more, you can start your gals real young (we're talking 18 months). They could well grow up to compete against both local and international teams! (www.ifasport.com)

Dubai Sports World - Got your own team? Or enough friends to form one? Open throughout the summer, you can take advantage of six indoor football pitches (both 5-a-side and 7-a-side) at Dubai's largest indoor sports venue for hourly rates that start as low as Dh280. Split that seven ways and... well, you see why anyone can play! (www.dubaisportsworld.ae)

karen@khaleejtimes.com