During the months of the Mandel Incubator Program, I joined the training sessions and games of Boatot team, which took place at the Bridge Over the Valley school in Kfar Kara. By means of prolonged observation, documentation and conversations, I was able to create a meaningful encounter. The photographs were made as a result of my profound appreciation for the players' efforts and achievements, with the intention to make their voices heard.

I chose to conduct the project at the Bridge Over the Valley school, aiming to create an encounter between Jewish and Arab female students through the game of soccer. The basis for this work was the notion that a sport can function as a map or a mirror, through which the perspective on essential social and cultural conflicts may be examined. The school calls for a dialogue between Arabs and Jews, however, recently the balance between the two groups has been broken. As a result, the soccer team which I documented consisted solely of Arab girls.

The students who participated in the project chose the photographs themselves, which were then presented in an exhibition at their school. Some of the images, taken on the soccer field, became digital drawings, which are integrated in this coloring book. Subsequently, turning female soccer players into symbols, models for imitation and admiration. Along with the drawings, the booklet also includes sentences and messages in Hebrew and Arabic relating to soccer, identity and faith – statements that express their voices in a direct way.

In terms of budgets, coverage and public opinion, female soccer is at the bottom of the sports hierarchy in Israel. Girls who love soccer have to deal with negative and stereotypical reactions, due to their love for the ball and the game. The girls who appear in this booklet, who insist on playing despite the difficulties and the glass ceilings, are cultural heroes and pioneers.

The project was developed in the framework of the Mandel Artists’ Incubator Program for Excellence, named after Jack, Joseph and Morton Mendel, and led by Musrara - the Naggar Multidisciplinary School of Art and Society, in collaboration with Boatot Association and Bridge Over the Valley School.