Modhi Al Ali
A proud moment for Middle-Eastern sportswomen, 15-year-old Emirati footballer Modhi Al Ali has been recruited by Manchester City FC as part of their global campaign to encourage more girls to play the sport of football. She is now being trained at City Football Schools. In the campaign video shot in the UAE (you can watch it here), Ali shares her passion for the sport as she says, “Football is what completes me the most. It’s the first thing I think about. It’s the thing I am talking, thinking and dreaming the most about. I feel something is missing if I don’t play.”
There is a long way to go for young Ali who is filled with determination, “Maybe it’s difficult to become a professional football player…But this is my ambition and my goal, and I must reach it.” Being part of a team, makes Ali feel like she is a part of something bigger.
While elsewhere in the world, stores are pulling out sports hijabs from their shelves, hijabi athletes like Ibtihaj Muhammad, Zahra Lari, Amna Al Haddad and now Modi Al Ali are helping tip the scales as they move forward in their careers.
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