AMMAN: The Jordan Football Association on Monday inaugurated its first women’s stadium in the capital Amman that is to feature in next year’s Women’s Asian Cup. Jordan will become the first Middle East nation to host a top Asian women’s football tournament when the cup is staged in April 2018. The Arab kingdom has around 1,000 registered women footballers, and it hosted the FIFA U-17 World Cup last year. The new stadium dedicated to women has the capacity for 1,000 spectators. 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” the president of the Jordan Football Federation, said Manar Freige, former player and U-19 coach. When he was FIFA vice president, the prince championed the cause of allowing Muslim women to play football in hijabs. Manar said hosting the U-17 World Cup gave Jordan a “solid foundation” and saw hundreds of girls start to play football. The new women’s stadium “will contribute to raising the standards of the national women’s teams”, he said. The 19th women’s Asia Cup will be held in Jordan on April 7-22 next year.