Just days before IFAB are to review hijab ban, United Nations express support of wearing safe, Velcro-opening headscarf.
The United Nations has joined the campaign to overturn the ban on the hijab in football four days before the sport's rule makers are due to review the decision.
The U.N. Secretary-General's special adviser on sport for development and peace Wilfried Lemke has written to FIFA
president Sepp Blatter expressing support for the right to wear a safe, Velcro-opening headscarf.
Lemke expressed his hope that "the issue can be resolved in a way that respects both the Laws of the Game as well as cultural considerations, while promoting football for all women without discrimination," the U.N. said in a statement.
"It would send the message that each female player, from the top elite level down to the grassroots, has the freedom to decide whether or not to wear this particular piece of attire while on the field"
U.N. statement
"It would send the message that each female player, from the top elite level down to the grassroots, has the freedom to decide whether or not to wear this particular piece of attire while on the field.
"It would give the opportunity for remarkable female athletes to demonstrate that wearing the headscarf is not an obstacle to excelling in life and sports, and would hence contribute to challenging gender stereotypes and bringing about a change in mentalities."
While Olympic sports such as rugby and taekwondo allow Muslim women to wear the headscarf in competition, soccer is opposed for safety reasons.
Last year the Iran women's soccer team were prevented from playing their 2012 Olympic second round qualifying match against Jordan because they refused to remove their hijabs before kickoff.
Iran, who had topped their group in the first round of Olympic qualifiers after going undefeated, were given 3-0 defeats as a penalty which abruptly ended their dreams of qualifying for the London Olympics.
The ban will be reviewed by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) which meets in England on Saturday
Founded in 1886, it is soccer's ultimate law-making body comprising four members from FIFA and four from the British associations.
FIFA vice-president Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan will present the case for allowing players to use a Dutch-designed Velcro hijab which comes apart if pulled.
Source: Reuters
http://www.aljazeera.com/sport/football/2012/02/20122291703086617.html
Pictures: FIFA disqualified the Iranian women's team from Olympics because the team wore headscarves [EPA]
Hijab ban 'turning women off football'
Muslim women discouraged from playing due to headscarf ban in competition, according to FIFA vice-president Prince Ali.
Muslim women are being driven away from football by FIFA's ban of the hijab, with more likely to follow if rulemakers fail to reverse the decision at a meeting next month, Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan told news agency Reuters.
While physical Olympic sports such as rugby and taekwondo allow Muslim women to wear the headscarf in competition, football, the world's most popular sport, remains against its use, citing safety concerns.
Last year the Iranian women's football team were prevented from playing their 2012 Olympic second round qualifying match against Jordan because they refused to remove their hijabs before kick-off.
Iran had topped their group in the first round of Olympic qualifiers after going undefeated, however the Asian nation were given 3-0 defeats in their four second round matches because of their failure to comply with the rules, their dreams of competing in London abruptly ended.
"It is very important that everybody has the chance to play the sport that they love and obviously the laws of the games have to be amended to allow that," Prince Ali, a FIFA vice-president, told Reuters in an interview in Singapore.
"I think that football, being the most popular sport in the world, accessible to all, we should take the lead on this issue and therefore that is what we are trying to pursue and hopefully we will get a pass from IFAB."
IFAB Hearing
Founded in 1886, IFAB, or the International Football Association Board, is football’s ultimate law-making body comprising four members from the sport's world governing body, FIFA, and four from the British associations.
They will hold a meeting in England on March 3 where Prince Ali will present the case for allowing players to use a Dutch-designed Velcro hijab which comes apart if pulled and, he hopes, will remove safety concerns.
"As far as I'm concerned, I want to make sure and guarantee what it is - that football is for everyone," said the Prince, who at 36 is the youngest member of FIFA's all-powerful executive committee.
"If you look at other sports such as rugby, they are allowed to play so therefore we hope it will be the same case with football."
A three-quarters majority is required for the proposal to be passed by IFAB, who first banned the hijab in 2007 when 11-year-old Asmahan Mansour was prevented from playing a match by the Quebec Soccer Federation after she refused to remove her headscarf.
"I do hope and do believe that if common sense does prevail all will be supportive of this, why not?
"I don't like the politics, we are going straight to the point which is to allow all of our players to participate on all levels," Prince Ali said.
In 2010, FIFA adjusted their rules to allow a cap that covers the players heads to the headline but did not extend below the ears to cover the neck.
Discouraged
Asked if he was concerned that Muslim women would turn away from the sport if IFAB fail to permit a full headscarf, Prince Ali said it may already be too late for some.
"Well I think already we have seen that, and I think that is very unfortunate. I think we need to give the right to (play) to everyone across the world and we have to respect each others’ cultures."
FIFA's reluctance to allow the full headscarf on concerns over safety appears overly strict.
Prince Ali, who suggested long hair was more likely to cause injury on the field, said that his findings had not uncovered any hijab-related injuries in women's football matches.
"If you want to have a fancy hairdo, or whatever (it doesn't matter) just let them play and I think there are so many women out there who have the right to do this and participate in this sport.
"If you look at FIFA as well, they spend about 15 percent of their budget on developing women's football but when it comes to playing at this level they are suddenly banned and we have to change that. "
- Prince Ali
"If you look at FIFA as well, they spend about 15 percent of their budget on developing women's football but when it comes to playing at this level they are suddenly banned and we have to change that."
While the campaign has royal approval, members of the Jordanian women's team have used the modern day method of social networking to highlight the campaign.
A Facebook page called 'let us play' has been launched and attracted more than 30,000 'likes', while the players have used national radio to also boost their message.
Prince Ali said he was confident that, with approximately 650 million headscarf wearers globally, the number of Muslim women playing football would rise on the back of the campaign if IFAB reversed their decision.
"I think definitely, definitely. Just give them the opportunity and let them make their choices. It is a game for the world - that's what makes football what it is, it is a very, very special game and therefore we should allow full participation."
Source: Reuters
http://www.aljazeera.com/sport/football/2012/02/201221011400487443.html
FIFA firm over Iran Hijab ban
Complaint from Iran falls on deaf ears after women stopped from playing moments before London 2012 Olympic qualifier.
The Iranian women's football team have had their London 2012 Olympic hopes dashed by an unexpected ruling that their women's football team's Islamic dress broke FIFA rules, a football federation official in Tehran said.
FIFA on Monday rejected a complaint from Iran after its women were banned from playing moments before an Olympic qualifier against Jordan last week, due to their full-body strip that includes a head scarf.
The chief of women's affairs at Iran's football federation told the Reuters news agency that Iran had made changes to its women's kit after a FIFA ban last year, and believed it had been given the approval of the world federation and of its president, Sepp Blatter.
"We made the required corrections and played a match afterwards," Farideh Shojaei said.
"We played the next round and were not prevented from doing so, and they didn't find anything wrong. That meant that there are no obstacles in our path, and that we could participate in the Olympics."
FIFA said its match officials were right to stop the team from playing wearing Islamic headscarves.
'Informed thoroughly'
Iranian officials were "informed thoroughly" before Friday's match against Jordan that the hijab scarf covering a women's neck is banned for safety reasons, FIFA said.
The world governing body said that Jordan, some of whose players also wear scarves, accepted the rule and "decided not to select a number of players."
Ready to play: Iran walk out onto the pitch in Amman before the match was halted [Reuters]
"(Iran football federation chief, Ali) Kafashian took it to FIFA and showed it to Mr Sepp Blatter. And they proved that this conduct conforms to the fourth article of the FIFA constitution, which says (a kit should be) devoid of politics or religion," Shojaei said.
"In reality, this kit is neither religious, nor political, nor will it lead to harm a player. They proved this, and Mr Sepp Blatter accepted this and we participated in the Olympics."
FIFA's rules for the 2012 Olympics state: "Players and officials shall not display political, religious, commercial or personal messages or slogans in any language or form on their playing or team kits."
Whatever the result of Iran's complaint, it was unlikely that the team, who were handed a 3-0 defeat in the unplayed qualifier in Amman, would qualify for 2012, Shojaei said.
"It is extremely difficult to predict what results will come out of this, but I think it unlikely because the preliminary games will not be repeated.
"The countries that invested, and spent money and time and took part in the second round will clearly not be willing to repeat these games, especially if this week it becomes clear which team will enter the final round. So it is extremely unlikely."
FIFA banned the hijab in 2007 and has extended the safety rule to include neck warmers, or 'snoods', which had become popular in European leagues last season.
At the 2010 Youth Olympics, Iran's girls covered their hair with specially designed caps.
Source: Agencies
http://www.aljazeera.com/sport/football/2011/06/201166124927699569.html
pictures: A player is comforted after withdrawing from the match against Jordan in Amman on June 3 [Reuters]
More than a goal for Jordan
Even the biggest football fan could be forgiven for missing the most momentous goal so far at the Asian Games here in Guangzhou.
A long-range strike from Jordan's Maysa Jbarah on Sunday came sandwiched in the middle of 10 goals for their opponents, China – a powerhouse of women's football in Asia and the hosts of this tournament of 42 sports and 12,000 athletes.
The 21-year-old's goal was Jordan's first at an Asian Games, coming four years after the team conceded 30 and scored none at their first appearance at the competition in Doha.
The quality of the finish – and the way the chance was created by fellow Amman-born strike partner Shahnaz Jebreen – showed that Jordan can have a future in a sport where the gulf in class between the top and bottom sides can produce brutal scorelines.
As China's coach Li Xiaopeng said after the teams' opening Group A match: "Our girls did a good job, but Jordan's one goal is more important than our 10 goals."
Beyond goals scored, the wider perspective should take in the fact that young women starting out in the sport in Jordan now have heroes they can look up to.
The 18-year-old Jebreen, one of two members of Sunday's starting line-up to wear a headscarf, not only has lightning pace but moves intelligently and uses her skill on the ball to create good positions for her team.
Jebreen is no headless chicken. And if she can continue to cause problems for seasoned defences like China's, she can be a talisman for Jordan over what they hope will be the next 15 years of steady improvement.
They have a new coach in Dutchwoman Hesterine Dereus, a positive realist who knows exactly where Jordan are in the scale of things, and exactly where she wants to take them.
But much like the medieval bricklayer who realises he will never live to see the completion of his cathedral or castle, Dereus is probably aware she is only the beginning of Jordan's journey.
"We want to be in the top position, but we know where we are, and we are very far from China," the former Netherlands international said on Sunday, before putting the result against a football-loving nation of 1.3 billion into some context.
"There are only 360 (female) players in Jordan. I don't know how many there are in China but I think it is more than that.
"Jebreen is disappointed that we lost, but she doesn't understand that we are playing against the best and it is not enough to be fast and dangerous."
After a solo run saw Jebreen have a decent shot on target a few minutes earlier, the diminutive teenager hared onto a long ball in the 19th minute, beating the last defender and forcing the China goalkeeper Zhang Yanru into a hasty clearance which Jbarah calmly popped straight back over Zhang's head.
The strike made it 4-1 at that stage, but few goals when so far behind can have been celebrated with such glee.
One thing a developing team needs is stability, and the Jordanian football authorities would do well to keep hold of Dereus in these times when one bad result can mean the sacking of a coach.
Jordan will have many, many bad results before they can start turning improved performances into good scorelines. But they are not alone.
Vietnam lost 6-1 to South Korea on Sunday, and Thailand lost 4-0 to Japan in a score that looks relatively low for women's football. That's 22 goals in three matches, with Jordan still to face the Koreans and Vietnamese, and Thailand coming up against defending champions North Korea.
Incidentally, the men's Jordan under-23 team finished bottom of their own Asian Games group having managed only one draw in three matches. That came against Palestine, who picked up their first point at an Asian Games but have never scored.
Barring a miracle, Jordan women's goalkeeper Misda Ramounieh will be picking many more balls out of her net before the end of the group matches in Guangzhou, but the players will also hope to pick out the positives.
"We indeed lost by a landslide but it was not unexpected," goalscorer Jbarah said about their first match.
"We are better than we used to be though. Football means everything to us and I'm just happy to have scored."
sources: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/asia/2010/11/15/more-goal-jordan
pictures: Picture by EPA; More than a goal for Jordan
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