Lebanon launches first football championship for women

BEIRUT, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Football Federation has launched the first women's soccer championship during a ceremony at the Meridien Commodore hotel in Beirut, local Naharnet news website reported Tuesday.

Women's Soccer Committee President Hampartsoum Missakian said at the ceremony Monday that a dream came true with the launching of the new championship.

"Some might wonder about the ability of women to play football...to those I say that women's football has now regional and world championships," Missakian was quoted as saying.

The federation's president Hashem Haidar said the Lebanon Cup championship will kick off on May 3 and the general football tournament on the 17th the same month.

"Six clubs will participate (in the tournaments) which is not bad of a figure given the number of Lebanon's population and given that this activity is new" in the country, Haidar added.