IT STARTED WITH US
. . .From Yaounde to the World Cup
IT’S a journey that started with Zimbabwe’s Warriors one afternoon at the Stade Omnisport Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaounde, Cameroon.
On January 18, at the AFCON finals, the Warriors were part of history as the first female referee, Rwanda’s Salima Mukansanga, took charge of an AFCON match.
The battle was between the Warriors and Guinea’s Sylie National.
Mukansanga created history, after the previous 32 editions of the flagship African tournament from 1957, were handled exclusively by men.
“We are super proud of Salima because she has had to work exceptionally hard to be where she is today,” said CAF referees’ boss Eddy Maillet, back then.
“We know that as a woman she had to overcome serious obstacles to reach this level and she deserves a lot of credit.
“This moment is not just for Salima, but every young girl in Africa who has passion for football and who sees herself as a referee in the future.”
Zimbabwe beat Guinea 2-1 with Knowledge Musona and Kuda Mahachi on target.
Liverpool’s Naby Keita’s goal was not enough to save the West Africans.
Today, Mukansanga is about to make history again, as one the first crew of female referees, to take charge of the World Cup.
The female referees will not be stopped from officiating on World Cup matches involving conservative nations such as Iran, Saudi Arabia or Qatar because of cultural or religious sensitivities.
Mukansanga, Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita and Frenchwoman Stephanie Frappart have been appointed.
Referees chief Pierluigi Collina emphasised they had been selected because they are match officials and “not because they are women”.
“It [the presence of female referees] is something new, it’s something that attracts attention, it attracts interest,” said Collina, who is chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee.
“For us, they are referees, they are match officials. This is the message I gave them. ‘You are here not because you are women, you are here because you are FIFA match officials’. “All match officials can be appointed for all matches. If there are restrictions, because there are restrictions, they are restrictions concerning their role here. “We have some restrictions due to neutrality, for instance.
“But they are here as FIFA World Cup 2022 match officials and they are ready to officiate any kind of match, depending on their performances, depending on our thoughts.”
In addition to Mukansanga, Yoshimi and Frappart, three female assistant referees have also been selected for the World Cup.
“We are here because we deserve to be here. Back at our confederation, or back at home it is another level, so this is the biggest level of football,” said Mukansanga.
“So being here means we deserve to be here, it’s not a change or because we are women.”
“We are in the hands of FIFA so they will make the appointment. I am not afraid of anything,” added Frappart.