Ahead of the UEFA European Women’s Under-19 Championship kick-off, the national teams of Israel and England held a joint training session to promote the sport and its positive values among Jewish and Arab girls in Israel.

The initiative, held in Netanya, brought together three youth teams from Yefiya (Maccabi Yefiya), Hadera (Maccabi Kishronot Hadera) and Netanya (Netanya Girls) and the two national teams to train and through sport promote joint living and coexistence between Jews and Arabs. At the end of the event all players lined up together with a banner reading 'Football for All' in English, Hebrew and Arabic, reinforcing football's role as a sport that can be played by all regardless of gender, social background, religion or nationality.

For the girls of Maccabi Yefiya and Maccabi Kishronot Hadera this was also an opportunity to straighten relationships and further the values of fair play, as both teams compete together in the Israeli Northern Girl’s League.

The training session was held as part of ‘Football for All’ programme initiated by the Fare member New Israel Fund campaign Kick It Out Israel, which strives to promote women’s football and campaigns to combat racism and violence in football. The initiative was organised in partnership with the Israel and English Football Associations.

The UEFA European Women’s Under-19 Championship, Israel's first UEFA women's final tournament, will be held between 15-27 July. Seven teams from a record-equaling field of 48 will join the hosts. The matches will take place in Lod, Ramle, Rishon Lezion and Netanya.