The Jordanian FA has inaugurated the first women’s stadium in the capital Amman for next year’s Women’s Asian Cup. Jordan will become the first Middle East nation to host a top Asian regional women’s tournament when the tournament is staged in April 2018. The country has around 1,000 registered women footballers and last year hosted the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The new stadium dedicated to women has a 1,000-capacity. Two women’s teams held an exhibition game at the venue on Saturday, with several players wearing hijabs in the event marking International Women’s Day.

“Women’s football is progressing, especially after the efforts of Prince Ali”, said Manar Freige, former professional player and coach of the U19 Jordanian team. When he was vice-president of FIFA, Prince Ali fought successfully for the prohibition of the Islamic veil in the women’s football to be lifted.