The women footballers of Afghanistan have been faced by opposition and roadblocks on all sides -- from families, from society and from a national Football Federation that was happy to accept FIFA funding for women's football, but unwilling to support the ambitions of players and staff who wanted to make the women's game successful across the country.
[Edito's note: The Afghanistan Football Federation did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment]
Despite this, Afghanistan's women have maintained their determination to play football and excel on the international stage against all odds.
If women will go to those lengths to play football, we can only imagine how the women's game will develop under the right global conditions.
Men's football may have a 111-year head start, but with the required shifts in culture and governance, the women's game will explode.
A change in perspective -- football is football
For the women's game to thrive worldwide, a fundamental shift in perspective is needed.
Too often men and women's football are treated differently, and this ultimately stems from a failure to recognize that both games constitute 'football', the same sport that brings joy, passion and pride to people all over the world.
Both the men's game and the women's game have their own unique strengths and challenges, but a basic recognition that "football is football" will transform how the women's game is valued and developed.
Only when the women's game is viewed and managed as equal to the men's game will football authorities invest in women's football as they currently invest in the men's football.
I do not define investment here in a narrow sense. This is about much more than money. It's about devoting the required resources, care and attention to ensure that governance systems will protect and encourage women and girls playing football.
Failings in governance damage the women's game
In many clubs, academies and federations globally, the women's game is a "tick the box activity".
FIFA itself contributes to that culture by failing to hold its member associations accountable for a lack of effective governance, oversight and accountability in women's football.
As soon as a member association realizes that it can get away with diverting funds and expertise out of the women's game, it's only a matter of time before corruption, abuse, and intolerance will take hold and women will suffer.
If FIFA does not enforce the governance systems needed to develop the women's game, how can we expect their member associations to do so?
[Editor's note: FIFA did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment]
Autonomous Female Leadership
What the game requires is more than just protection for women and girls playing football. That is a basic human right. FIFA and wider governing bodies must also ensure that women have an autonomous voice in the development of the game.
So many women in federations are given a silent role with no budget and no decision-making autonomy. Female leadership should not be ceremonial and should entail management of budgets and direct lines of communication to governing bodies.
Autonomous female leaders are best placed to drive the growth of the women's game. We know that young girls play football for different reasons to boys.
Women leaders steeped in football can educate clubs, academies and federations on these differences and teach them how to develop environments that girls love to play in.
This will ensure that grassroots football meets the needs of young girls leading to greater participation and opportunities.
Ultimately, this will lead to genuine changes in cultural attitudes to sport, as communities will start to value football and sport as spaces where their young women can grow.
With the support of communities, the growth of grassroots football will in turn have a huge knock-on impact on the professional game, but also on wider society, as more girls will have the opportunity to develop mentally, socially and physically through football.
It starts with all of us
The mentality of women athletes, in football and sport more generally, shows the power of unity.
Female athletes around the world have moved on from a "thank you for the opportunity" mentality to a "we want to be the best to achieve our potential" mentality.
This is getting results and sport governing bodies are starting to realize that they must respond to this change if they are to maintain any credibility.
However, the power of unity extends to fans as well. If as fans, we still align with everyday sexist behaviour and innate gender, racial, and socio-economic biases then we will fail to hold football's governing bodies to account.
There is power in numbers and if fans stand in solidarity with women athletes, we send the strongest possible message that nothing less than full equality will do. It is our collective responsibility as a global football and sporting community to stand together and hold governing bodies accountable for their actions.
The work is already underway
There are many organisations out there filling the void currently left by governing bodies in world sport. I recently attended a roundtable event hosted by Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, the Founder of the international social enterprise AFDP Global.
This important event was designed to co-ordinate current efforts to support the women footballers of Afghanistan. Since then, I have been working with AFDP Global to promote genuine inclusiveness, accessibility and good governance in women's football.
These are challenges that are by no means limited to the women's game and that's why AFDP Global has set out to unite and transform communities around the world through football.
Their ultimate aim is to ensure that the power of football reaches young people in need, irrespective of their race, religion, social background, or gender.
Representative bodies with authority over women's football and sport in general must support the efforts of organisations like AFDP Global and act now for an inclusive world game.
To ensure the growth of women's sport, principled decisions need to be made to give autonomy to female leaders, as well as proper investment in and protection of female athletes.
If women's football is going to fulfil its potential and truly thrive, much more needs to be done, and soon.
Football is a vehicle to developing intelligent, powerful, and accountable women that nations will stand on the shoulders of one day!
International Women's Day is a valuable opportunity to pose an important question to football's governing bodies directly -- what are you doing to make this a reality for young girls and women around the world?
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "'Against all odds': Women's football -- a vision for the future"
Post a Comment