A Minority Within A Minority.

Racial and Religious Discrimination in Women's Football.

“Being on that pitch, with people that looked like me and sounded like me and genuinely just supported me in every way, I’ve never experienced anything like that in all my years as a football player. There’s nothing like it,” says Warda, a 22-year-old student and football player from East London. Warda is talking about being a player for Sisterhood F.C., a women’s football team based in New Cross, South-East London. However, Sisterhood F.C. is truly special in the fact that it is a team made up of solely Muslim women of colour.

“We want to show young, minority girls that they are accepted and are welcome to take part in football, no matter who they are,” says Yasmin Abukar, the founder of Sisterhood F.C. “We’re determined to be a platform that raises important issues and helps in breaking barriers for Muslim women in football”.  Following years of quietly persistent discrimination in football, from the pitch to the highest powers in the sport, many young, minority women have chosen to create their own, safe spaces to enjoy football without the fear of discrimination. 

Members of Sisterhood F.C.

In recent years, many football fans will be familiar with the abuse against black and minority ethnic players, such as England players Raheem Stirling and Tyrone Mings, with one of the most recent examples being the use of monkey chants and nazi salutes against Mings, during his debut at the 2020 European Football Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria. But, minority women have also been subject to abhorrent abuse and discrimination on and off the pitch.

Former England player Eni Aluko was paid £80,000 in 'hush-money' in 2017 by the Football Association, following her complaint about racist remarks from former England manager, Mark Sampson, who told her that her Nigerian family should make sure not to bring Ebola with them to a football game. Also, former Tottenham player Renée Hector had “monkey noises” shouted at her by a player during a game in 2019, and received a torrent of racist abuse online following her complaint. Also, non-professional players, such as Amina of Sisterhood F.C., are subject to discrimination from early ages. “I’ve been playing football for ten years now, and throughout my years, I would say that being discriminated against is something that actually only occurred when I started wearing my hijab. It would be through minor things like “oh I didn’t know you could play” or “are allowed to play”, and other things such as staff requiring me to remove my hijab before playing games. Because I was younger then, it didn’t appear to be a great issue, but looking back at it now, it was just pure discrimination.” These experiences are not uncommon for minority women in football and have increased in recent years, yet, why does the discrimination that female football players face often go unnoticed?

Women’s football has undoubtedly increased in success and popularity over this period. From the FIFA Women’s World Cup being one of the most watched sporting events of 2019, to England winning the SheBelieve’s Cup for the first time, to Barclay’s signing a multi-million sponsorship deal with the Women’s Super League. Such milestones have attracted millions of fans from around the world, helped in changing the narrative around female players and have pushed the women's game onto the global stage, where it belongs. Yet, it is important to note that with the rise in popularity of the game, also comes the rise in discrimination against minority players.

The equality and inclusion organisation, Kick it Out, are one of the most prominent names in helping to tackle the issue of racism in English football. A report from them, released last November, revealed that cases of racism and homophobia in the sport were on a rise. Their report also included information and statistics from FA Women’s Super League, but, the organisation have recognised that racism in the women’s game is an “underreported phenomenon”.

“There are few cases as high profile as Renée Hector or Eni Aluko, but that does not mean it’s not happening,” a spokesperson for Kick it Out told gal-dem magazine in 2019. “We certainly take racism in the women’s game seriously and we believe it’s an issue that needs more attention from the public, the media and the football authorities.”

Back to South-East London, Sisterhood F.C. is on the path to changing the narrative around Muslim and other minority women in football. They are a loud voice in calling about inequality in the women’s game, and are helping in fighting the battle against racial and religious discrimination in women’s football. The team, founded in 2018, has over 40 regular players and focuses on a community-based approach to the sport, by welcoming players of all abilities and training them to be their best. With collaborations with Nike, Adidas and the BBC to name a few, Sisterhood F.C. are well on their way to revolutionising women’s football and showing the highest powers in the sport that you can wear a hijab, be a woman of colour and play football at a professional level.

Yasmin Abukar, founder of Sisterhood F.C. pictured second from the left with some teammates.

“I created Sisterhood F.C to inspire and empower Muslim women in football,” says Yasmin, the founder of the team and a life-long football player and fan. “Growing up, I couldn’t find female-focused sports groups - I had confidence and I always wanted to be involved, but the spaces weren’t there. Also, I was always subjected to labels like ‘tomboy’, and I didn’t see the issue at the time, but I was too young to understand how society constructed an image of female athletes.”

Clip from an interview with Yasmin, founder of Sisterhood F.C., for BBC's 'The One Show'

“Wearing the hijab was an even bigger battle, too, and things like FIFA’s hijab-ban doesn’t help as it disregards people's faith completely.” The hijab was first banned by FIFA in 2007, and over the next seven years, it proceeded to lift the ban, before reinforcing it, and then lifting it once again which undoubtedly alienated thousands of Muslim women and girls from football in the process. “It’s now been lifted,” continues Yasmin, “but it was unacceptable because the aftermaths of such terms can cause division and discrimination” she explains. “Hijab is a part of our identity, and like, I’m a black Muslim woman. All those three things combined is a lot to deal with in this society, so with Sisterhood F.C., I wanted to help women by leading a safe space where we are prioritised. We are a minority within a minority, and I want to inspire women and young girls, by showing them that wearing a hijab doesn’t limit your abilities or talent, and you can get involved in football or any other sport.”

In the last ten years, progress has definitely been made regarding diversity in the women's game, but Kick it Out recognise that “it would be hard to argue that elite women’s football in England is truly representative of the country. There are very few black women or women of colour coaching at the top level, and more representation is needed. Football has to ensure we create an environment where anyone who suffers racism knows how they can report it and feels emboldened to draw attention to it.” It is clear to see that the FA, FIFA and other football institutions need to look at and review their current approaches and attitudes to discrimination in the women’s game, by placing player safety and security of utmost importance.

“The progress we’ve made as a team and the opportunities we’ve had so far on this journey have been incredible”, says Yasmin, on the advent of Sisterhood F.C. “I’m glad we are gaining recognition because I truly believe that we can challenge stereotypes of Muslim women, impact young girls around the world and change perspectives of female athletes. The sports industry is ready for a change and hopefully, with hard work, we will continue to break barriers.” Teams like Sisterhood F.C. are truly paving the way for more inclusivity, representation and recognition for minority women in football. Although there is a long way to go before all women have a truly safe space in the sport, steps are being taken in the right direction, in order to teach young, aspiring female footballers that there is a place for them in the game, no matter who they are or what the colour of their skin is.

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