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Bahrain’s national team midfielder Deena Rahman will be joining female footballers from around the globe in a bid to record a hat-trick of world record-breaking successes.
The goal in France in June is to set a new achievement of having the most players ever participating in an official match.
The 36-year-old Tekkers Academy owner has already helped the Equal Playing Field (EFP) campaigners notch two Guinness World Records for playing the highest altitude football match 5,895m up Mount Kilimanjaro in 2017 and, last April, setting a brace of glory by competing in the lowest altitude match played at -413m on the Dead Sea shore in Jordan.
These inspirational activities are part of the EFP project aimed at paving the way for equality in sport, pushing for equal representation and respect on the pitch and in life, as highlighted in GulfWeekly.
Deena, above, is more thrilled than ever to be joining the ranks of footballers making a positive difference once again. “It feels fantastic to be a part of the Equal Playing Field initiative and already having two Guinness World Records in the bag,” she said.
“Not many people can say that, but the highlight for me on the Jordan quest was the coaching camps we put on for girls in refugee camps. To see them enjoying playing football and having fun was thoroughly satisfying.
“The lowest altitude game was an official FIFA regulated match, under the patronage and in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan. This record was only recently officially approved by Guinness World Records.
“I’m looking forward to breaking the next record surrounded by my peers and other footballing women.”
The third record breaking attempt will be held in Lyon during the Women’s World Cup. The dates scheduled for the Festival of Football is June 27 to July 1, however, it still needs to be confirmed by the French authorities.
In the meantime, EFP is planning to make it the biggest match played to date with 3,500 players taking part over five days. The current record is 2,357 people, over four days, playing non-stop football.
“It will still be 11 v 11 but the game will run continuously with players playing at least one hour each,” explained Deena, who lives in Saar. “The #hashtag for this mission is #anygirlanywhere and this sums up what EPF is about. Our aim is to encourage female participation, as much as possible, all around the world. We’re excited about attempting to achieve our third world record.
“I’m grateful to share my passion for football with the world and the Equal Playing Field initiative has provided me with exciting opportunities to help develop girls and women football participation.”
Only last month, the EFP invited Deena to Los Angeles, the sprawling Southern California city in the US, to help film a series of videos to help girls around the world practice the key footballing skills. “I stayed with Kim Smith, one of my close friends, who was one of the team coaches on both record successes.
“It was great to see her again and we had a fantastic catch-up. Unfortunately, I was only there for three days, but two solid days of filming resulted in all the footage needed to hopefully make some great videos.”
Interested footballers willing to help with the record-breaking attempt in France can register by visiting https://form.jotform.co/82518432332856 or www.equalplayingfield.com
