New Northwestern University in Qatar soccer team to encourage female participation in sports Meena Antony / Saturday, December 22, 2012 0 20731 Article rating: No rating In a bid to inspire young women in Qatar to increase their involvement in the world of sports, students at Northwestern University in Qatar have initiated the university's first women's soccer team. Motivated in part by a recent study conducted by Assistant Professor in Residence Geoff Harkness, which showed that females represent only 7.3% of athletes registered to sports federations and clubs, students Maha Al-Ansari and AlDana Al Misned recruited members for the soccer team in hopes of encouraging more females to join and be active members of the sports community. Read more