Thiruvananthapuram: In a first of its kind, a girls’ cricket team from India will be touring the UAE to play six friendlies against different academies in the last week of December. Play True, a Thiruvananthapuram-based player management company, is organising the pathbreaking tour for its team, The Pathbreakers, which consists of players from Meghalaya, Karnataka and Kerala. The tour is the company’s first initiative under its girls-empowerment project called For HER, according to officials.

The 10-day tour is being organised in association with G Force Academy, one of the oldest cricket academies in the UAE, run by its head coach, Gopal Jasapara, a former Saurashtra player.

“The tour is being conducted with a vision to give more opportunities to girl cricketers, and give them international exposure,” said Sonia Anirudhan, CEO and Co-Founder of Play True. “For HER is a project which brings girls to the forefront and help them chase their dream of becoming champions,” she added.

As a player-management company, Play True launches For HER not just for cricket but for all sports. “We will be supporting girls in other sports as well who normally don’t get good training facilities and sponsorship support,” said Sonia.

“Play True’s vision of empowering girls through sports is based on growing evidence that women and girls who play sports are increasingly likely to excel on both the playing field and in life.” In a society where the word ‘player’ in our subconscious means a male, girls must be encouraged and supported to chase her dream of becoming a champion or rise above the stifling forces, she added.