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Over two billion people around the world watched the Women’s World Cup Final on Sunday August 20, 2023.
Tucked away on the Left Coast of the Tigris River in Mosul, Iraq, a group of teenage girls and their families scoured the internet to find the right streaming sites to also catch the game. The screening was fuzzy, but the vision was clear: one day, the Mosul Girls Football Club could also be on this field.
Rama (13), Zubaida (14) and Hadeel (15) have a shared story of displacement and loss – the name of their city, Mosul, was synonymous with death, destruction, and despair less than a decade ago.
Many families, including theirs, have returned to Mosul after years of living in limbo, and are building a brighter future for their children. Bazaars, schools, community centres are reopening and being rebuilt – the city is shaking off the anguish and grief of the previous years and the community is reviving its millennia-old culture and traditions. They are also welcoming new practices and embracing change.
“We are not boys,” says Rama, while getting ready for football practice at the Al Ammal football club in Mosul. “Generally, women and girls do not play sports in Mosul. It’s not common. My mother was afraid that I would fall and get hurt. But eventually she agreed. Now she is my biggest cheerleader.”
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