For The First Time in Jordan, Men Football Match Run by Women Referees

A group of Jordanian women referees were chosen to run a men's football match between Al-Baqa'a Club and Sahab SC on Tuesday. The game was the final match in the Jordanian Football League Championship for men.

This is the first time in the history of Jordanian football where a men’s match is being run by women referees. The referees team consisted of four females.

The referee team will be led by international referee Israa Mobaideen, assisted by Islam Al-Abadi, Sabreen Al-Abadi and Haneen Murad, Al-Araby repoted.

Moreover, the decision to appoint women referees at an all-men football match has seen so much support among Jordanians including Prince Ali bin Hussein, the half-brother of Jordan's King Abdallah and Tarek Khoury, a former Jordanian MP.

Many proud and supporting comments and posts were widely shared on social media especially from women’s rights advocates who see this as a huge step in enhancing women’s role in the Jordanian football history.

A Twitter user shared a post about the first women referees managing a men’s football game and wrote: “Esraa is very special and she has managed several matches in which I was a part of, and I am fully confident that she will pass the test.”

Another person revealed that he is proud of Jordan and Jordanian’s achievements on the Arab and international level continuing that Jordan gives equal opportunities to both males and females.

Mobaideen has earlier supervised qualifier matches in the 2021 Women's Cup of the Asia Football Confederation along with her colleague Islam Al-Abadi. 

The Saudi Football Association had also appointed a group of four Jordanian women referees to run matches in Saudi Arabia's first women's football league last year.