Mirko Dehring reports on a SARI (Sport Against Racism Ireland) project in Dublin that is encouraging muslim women to get involved in football.
After FIFA lifted the ban on hijabs in March 2014, Muslim women were allowed to officially play football wearing their traditional headgear. There supposedly will be some teams at the 2015 Women’s World Cup wearing hijabs.
Here in Dublin, at SARI, two Young Leaders seized the opportunity to organise the Hijabs and Hat Tricks project, which should encourage young Muslim women to play football and to further intercultural dialogue. The emerging team called itself ‘Diverse City’.
Most of the women didn’t have any experience of playing football before and had to learn the basics. They mostly originate from different countries in Africa, although all of them are living in Ireland now. It is a really good mix of backgrounds and the girls value the friendship they experience in the team and the fun they have together.
The team practices regularly with attendance of about 15 to 20 women. They played in the Fair Play Cup on World Refugee Day on June 15th, held by SARI and UNHCR, and are planning to take part in SARI’s big Soccerfest in September.
You can find more information on SARI at sari.ie.
She Kicks – the online news service for women’s football
