In June 2017, two teams of female soccer players climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro and played the highest altitude game of football, of any gender, ever, reports Gripped.
It was a world record and in 2018, they played another soccer game at the Dead Sea for another world record. The games were organized by Equal Playing Field (EPF), a grassroots, non-profit initiative to challenge gender inequality in sport and to promote sports development for girls and women globally, especially in marginalised country contexts.
“We are elated to have made history,” one of the players exclaimed. “The game, in thin air and on the back of a five hour climb was one of the hardest challenges of my life. However we had incredible team spirit, and it was a joy to play together.”
Specifically it aims to ensure opportunity, equality and respect for girls and women in sport and in life, and does this through a combination of high-profile challenges, implementing grassroots training and empowerment programmes through local and international partnerships, and through its global communications and advocacy platform.
Thirty-two female international pros, competitive amateurs and graduates of sports charities from more than 20 countries traveled to Tanzania and summited Mount Kilimanjaro to play the world record highest elevation regulation game in history.
More than 1-mile higher than the world’s highest professional stadium and higher even than Everest Base Camp, it was an 11-a-side, full-field, FIFA standard match on a volcanic ash pitch at 18,747-feet. Unfortunately, the game finished in a 0-0 draw, so nobody can claim another record, highest goal ever scored!
The teams included World Cup, Champions League, and Olympic pros, more than 10 women’s national team players, and ages ranging from 15 to 55 years old.
To read more about the teams and the game visit here.
