New sports female success story Zeina Hamarsha receives FIFA Master’s Programme

AMMAN — Zeina Hamarsha, a 26-year-old who paved her way in the football world amid the obstacles she faced, has become “the first Jordanian female to receive the FIFA Master’s Programme”.

Hamarsha said that her passion for football began at the age of three, when she found herself playing street football as a goalkeeper. Thanks to her success in the school league, she was approached by Amman Club’s team manager, Raed Qassas, to be selected for the club’s roaster in 2011.

“I made it to the Jordan Women’s National Football team as a goalkeeper six months after joining Amman Club, but I had to drop out in 2014 to focus on my studies as a civil engineer student,” she told The Jordan Times.

However, Hamarsha did not lose her connection to football, as she was assigned to be the Competition Officer at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup which was hosted by Jordan in 2016 during her fourth year of studies at the age of 22 and two years later she was appointed as a Venue Manager for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 2018, hosted again by Jordan.

“It was a challenge for me to be accepted as a female to play football, which is a male-dominated sport, particularly in our country and region, but I did not care what people said because I believe sports is the definition of inclusivity. Another difficulty was balancing my studies with national team football games and practices, both during high school and university,” Hamarsha added.

She noted that her greatest managerial challenge was her age, as “no one believed that a young woman could be a manager for them or to give orders. “But with the help and confidence of my managers, I was able to resolve these obstacles and demonstrate that my work is of high quality and performed in a professional manner”.

Hamarsha pointed out that shifting her career to sports was not an easy step to take, as it is difficult to pursue a career in sports in Jordan.

She pointed out that studying the FIFA Masters created an opportunity for her to take the path to develop sports in Jordan. 

“Following my participation in the International Women’s Forum in Leadership for Women in Sports, organised by Samar Nassar, I was extremely inspired to apply to the FIFA masters, which was difficult to get as they choose 25-33 applicants from all over the world,” Hamarsha said.

Talking about her future goals, she said that her “top priority will be to create more resources and development programmes for women in sports. More Jordanian women in sports, both locally and internationally, are needed”.

By the end of July, Hamarsha will complete the final module in Neuchatel, Switzerland. 

“I am excited to return to my beloved country to give back all of the experience I have gained and to contribute to the promotion of sports in Jordan.”