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MARIO GOTZE EQUAL PLAYInG FIELD “I wrote to Guinness when we decided we wanted to go for the record, thinking we’d be able to have a little five-a-side kickabout up there for half an hour and that would be that,” says Youngson. “But they wrote back saying, ‘No, it needs to be a FIFA-standard game: 11-a-side, for 90 minutes, with referees, assistants and pitch markings.’ Obviously that made it a little harder.” Daunted but not deterred, Laura and Equal Playing Field co-founder Erin Blankenship set about assembling not only two full-sized teams, but also officials, doctors and other support staff up for the challenge. “We both moved around a lot and both knew some amazing women in sport, so it was just a case of putting the feelers out. Early on we had a few people tell us we were mad, but slowly we started hearing from people who thought it was cool and wanted to play. “The turning point was when we had people saying things like, ‘I’m doing this for everyone in my country who can’t play football’. It made us realise it really was more than just a kickabout.” Among the early recruits was Maggie Murphy, who has her own story of seeing obstacles placed between her and the game she loves. “There weren’t any girls teams when I was growing up on the Isle of Wight, so I had to play adult football from the age of 13,” she tells FFT. “I’ve travelled a lot for my work and played in Germany, the Netherlands, Tanzania, Rwanda and Senegal, so I’ve also had a taste of the different challenges female footballers faced in those places. All of that acted as an inspiration for me.” The travelling party didn’t just consist of ‘committed amateurs’ – there were several former pros in their ranks, too. “We went after women who already had a profile for talking about this sort of stuff,” says Youngson. “Like Lori Lindsey [a midfielder who played 31 times for the USA between 2005 and 2013], who wanted a challenge and speaks very openly about how to improve the women’s game, and [102-times capped former England left-back] Rachel Unitt, who’d just finished her career and was keen to give something back to the sport.” So in June 2017, with their noble cause in mind, the group took the first steps of their historic climb. “There had been a few people saying they wanted to turn back, but there was this energy in the group that kept us going,” reveals Murphy. Amazingly, while the usual estimated completion rate of Kilimanjaro climbs is 65 per cent, more than 96 per cent of the Equal Playing Field party reached the summit, with only two going back. “I have a feeling if we were just climbing the mountain, then turning straight back around, a few would’ve dropped out,” adds Murphy. “But because we had this great cause in our minds, nearly everyone made it.” Perhaps more incredibly, they finished the most arduous stage of the climb in the early hours of the morning of their record-breaking match. “We kicked off at about 10am, having woken up that morning at 2am and hiked for five or six hours, climbing the last 1,000 meters,” continues Murphy. “That was the hardest climb. It was freezing cold, meaning our water bottles froze over. The one thing you get told to help avoid altitude sickness is to stay hydrated, but when your water’s frozen solid, there’s not much you can do!” With the hard part out of the way, it was time to do what they loved. “To be honest, after all of that climbing, it was actually a relief to be playing football,” laughs Youngson. The game itself, by all accounts, was not a classic – although this was less a reflection of the ability of the players, more of a testament to the uniquely challenging conditions. “There was a lack of oxygen and the pitch was mainly volcanic ash – it was almost like beach football and that meant the quality was possibly a little lower,” explains Murphy. “I’d climbed Mount Everest, so I had an understanding of exactly what altitude can do,” says Youngson. “But I’d not experienced playing sport in those kind of conditions – few people have.” “There were moments when you would run to chase the ball, but then quickly realise you couldn’t recover. You had to time your runs – if you’re going for a quick burst, that’s you done for the next five or 10 minutes.” The match may have finished 0-0 (with Maggie still kicking herself for failing to convert a one-on-one chance), but their mission was complete. The world record had been beaten, but even before they’d finished their Kilimanjaro descent, they were eyeing up another. 48 October 2018 FourFourTwo.com “WE KICKED OFF AT 10AM, HAVI nG WOKE n UP AT 2AM A nD HIKED FOR FIVE HOURS TO CLIMB THE LAST 1,000 METERS – IT WAS ACTUALLY A RELIEF TO PLAY FOOTBALL!” “We wanted to set another world record, but the motivation for most of the group was really to invest in the grassroots of the game,” explains Youngson. “All of the women who went up Kilimanjaro said that it was a life-changing experience, so to then go around the world and meet women who’ve faced similar issues, be able to talk about it and let them know they’re not alone is very powerful.” The inspiration for their next record attempt actually came as the first adventure was just ending. “We had two girls from Jordan in the group, and as we were heading back down the mountain they joked, ‘We’ve done the highest match, now you should all come to Jordan and play the lowest,’” says Murphy. “When the two of them got home, they were given a bit of a hero’s welcome – word had got out and the media went to greet them at the airport. There was a lot of excitement and enthusiasm about a couple of Jordanian women being part of this world record.” Prince Ali – the third son of King Hussein of Jordan – heard about the pair’s feats and called them to offer his congratulations. Once he’d got wind of the idea to break another record, for the match played at the lowest point possible, he almost immediately threw his weight behind a game at the Dead Sea.
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MARIO GOTZE EQUAL PLAYING FIELD “Jordan had hosted the Under-17 Women’s World Cup in 2016 and have a very strong women’s team,” reveals Murphy. “They are really keen to progress the sport, so for him it was a no-brainer to support us, particularly as Jordan was also going to be hosting the Women’s Asian Cup in 2018.” Having barely removed their hiking boots, the group were preparing to make history once again. This time they’d embark on a 12-day trek across Jordan, making time to teach girls about the wonder of football along the way, before finally playing another FIFA-standard match at 1,400 feet below sea level. “We thought the whole thing would probably be a bit easier than Kilimanjaro, but it ended up being really intense,” admits Youngson. “There was some tough terrain, but we were also able to go into a lot of different communities and run camps for girls who otherwise may never have had the opportunity to play football. In some of the very conservative areas of Jordan, there were girls who hadn’t even kicked a ball before in their life. “But I think just seeing these role models – not only women who play football, but also coaches, and other people who work around the game and take a great deal of pleasure and joy from it – was eye-opening for them.” Maggie was similarly moved. “The whole experience was very different – we ran four or five football camps as we went and that really broke up the hike,” she says. “It was amazing to have the chance to do some coaching with girls, a few of whom hadn’t kicked a ball before. It allowed us to leave a legacy more than we did by going up Kilimanjaro. “A lot of the younger girls just threw themselves into it and loved every minute – I’ll never forget the smiles on their faces. It was really humbling to see how excited they were just to be playing outside.” Whereas the game atop Kilimanjaro was a lung-busting stalemate on a testing surface, this time the internationals on show were able to really strut their stuff. Clockwise from main A rather picturesque kickabout in Petra, an archaeological site in the Jordanian desert; Prince Ali meets some of the Equal Playing Field line-up; before the Black Irises beat the White Tigers 4-2 “Because we were now playing on a pristine pitch funded by Prince Ali, rather than on volcanic ash, the better players in the group were suddenly able to show what they could do,” says Murphy. “Up Kilimanjaro, conditions were a leveller and everyone was more or less operating at the same level,” adds Youngson. “But in the heat of Jordan, even though I’d spent months training to compete with these internationals, their experience and fitness made a difference. “The heat was really tough. It was very hot and very dry – you had to take on a lot of water. You also had to make sure your passing was accurate – you couldn’t afford to waste energy chasing bad passes!” The Black Irises beat the White Tigers 4-2, with the watching crowd delighted by what they saw. “There were a couple of incredible goals,” says Youngson. “We put on an incredible show and showcased the strength and depth of the women’s game, which was partly what we’d wanted to do. “We probably had 2,000 people watching, which was a bit daunting, but it was also an amazing experience. And to think it had come from an idea I had while getting annoyed by a lack of funding.” Having experienced the highs and lows of football in the most extreme and least cliched way, Equal Playing Field are again looking for ways to get their message across by breaking records. And, yet again, it’s not taken them long to line up their next mission. “The aim is to do something around the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France,” says Youngson. “Ideally we would do a mass-participation event, so we can involve as many people and groups as possible.” The record for the highest participation match was set in July when 2,734 players took part in an 84-and-a-half-hour match in Cambodia, smashing the record previously set in Chile two years earlier. “We’re definitely thinking about taking that one on,” says Murphy. “Obviously we’d be looking to do it with just girls and women.” Assuming they aren’t planning to do it atop Mont Blanc, FFT doesn’t doubt they can make it happen. FourFourTwo.com October 2018 49

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MARIO GOTZE

EQUAL PLAYING FIELD

“Jordan had hosted the Under-17 Women’s World Cup in 2016 and have a very strong women’s team,” reveals Murphy. “They are really keen to progress the sport, so for him it was a no-brainer to support us, particularly as Jordan was also going to be hosting the Women’s Asian Cup in 2018.”

Having barely removed their hiking boots, the group were preparing to make history once again. This time they’d embark on a 12-day trek across Jordan, making time to teach girls about the wonder of football along the way, before finally playing another FIFA-standard match at 1,400 feet below sea level.

“We thought the whole thing would probably be a bit easier than Kilimanjaro, but it ended up being really intense,” admits Youngson. “There was some tough terrain, but we were also able to go into a lot of different communities and run camps for girls who otherwise may never have had the opportunity to play football. In some of the very conservative areas of Jordan, there were girls who hadn’t even kicked a ball before in their life.

“But I think just seeing these role models – not only women who play football, but also coaches, and other people who work around the game and take a great deal of pleasure and joy from it – was eye-opening for them.”

Maggie was similarly moved. “The whole experience was very different – we ran four or five football camps as we went and that really broke up the hike,” she says. “It was amazing to have the chance to do some coaching with girls, a few of whom hadn’t kicked a ball before. It allowed us to leave a legacy more than we did by going up Kilimanjaro.

“A lot of the younger girls just threw themselves into it and loved every minute – I’ll never forget the smiles on their faces. It was really humbling to see how excited they were just to be playing outside.” Whereas the game atop Kilimanjaro was a lung-busting stalemate on a testing surface, this time the internationals on show were able to really strut their stuff.

Clockwise from main A rather picturesque kickabout in Petra, an archaeological site in the Jordanian desert; Prince Ali meets some of the Equal Playing Field line-up; before the Black Irises beat the White Tigers 4-2

“Because we were now playing on a pristine pitch funded by Prince Ali, rather than on volcanic ash, the better players in the group were suddenly able to show what they could do,” says Murphy.

“Up Kilimanjaro, conditions were a leveller and everyone was more or less operating at the same level,” adds Youngson. “But in the heat of Jordan, even though I’d spent months training to compete with these internationals, their experience and fitness made a difference.

“The heat was really tough. It was very hot and very dry – you had to take on a lot of water. You also had to make sure your passing was accurate – you couldn’t afford to waste energy chasing bad passes!”

The Black Irises beat the White Tigers 4-2, with the watching crowd delighted by what they saw.

“There were a couple of incredible goals,” says Youngson. “We put on an incredible show and showcased the strength and depth of the women’s game, which was partly what we’d wanted to do.

“We probably had 2,000 people watching, which was a bit daunting, but it was also an amazing experience. And to think it had come from an idea I had while getting annoyed by a lack of funding.”

Having experienced the highs and lows of football in the most extreme and least cliched way, Equal Playing Field are again looking for ways to get their message across by breaking records. And, yet again, it’s not taken them long to line up their next mission. “The aim is to do something around the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France,” says Youngson. “Ideally we would do a mass-participation event, so we can involve as many people and groups as possible.”

The record for the highest participation match was set in July when 2,734 players took part in an 84-and-a-half-hour match in Cambodia, smashing the record previously set in Chile two years earlier.

“We’re definitely thinking about taking that one on,” says Murphy. “Obviously we’d be looking to do it with just girls and women.”

Assuming they aren’t planning to do it atop Mont Blanc, FFT doesn’t doubt they can make it happen.

FourFourTwo.com October 2018 49

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