Saturday February 29, 2020
by Samira Sawlani
Iqra Ismail now runs Never Underestimate Resilience, a UK team comprising women footballers from ethnic minority backgrounds [Courtesy: Iqra Ismail]
London England – When Iqra Ismail's teacher told her that "girls can't play football," the eight-year-old girl was determined to prove she was wrong.
A proud Somali born in the United Kingdom, Iqra, now 19, grew up in Southall, a multicultural center in West London.
Under the age of seven, her love story with football began in elementary school.
"Every grade in school had a soccer team made up of all the boys and a girl. I was the second best girl, so I would never go in," he told Al Jazeera.
He was finally included in a squad, presenting a stellar performance in his first game. He turned to the coach and said, "That's why you should choose two girls."What began as a hobby quickly became a passion and, despite initial misgivings, Iqra's mother climbed aboard, reminding her daughter to cling to her religion, values and also focus on her education. .
And at age 14, he joined his first club.
"The club team was shorts, a T-shirt and long socks. I asked the coach what alternatives there were for me. He said:" I don't know, I've never had a Muslim player before. "
"It was then that I realized that, as a black, Muslim girl with a hijab, I became the & # 39; another & # 39;".
Over the years, she continued testing for equipment, but was often rejected.
"As a player, you know when your ability is. I don't think they looked in my direction and they said: & # 39; She's not good enough & # 39 ;, I don't think they cared enough to look because they didn't belong to them .
"There is this narrative that our families will prevent us from playing because of religion or culture. The reality is that we mainly stop because the focus on education is instilled in you."
For many, USA UU. It is considered the maximum peak of women's football. At 16, Iqra was about to live his dream, a contract for an American club in his hand.
But two weeks earlier, Donald Trump had won the US elections.
His mother, worried about getting up Islamophobia and racism advised Iqra not to make the move.
"I couldn't argue with her because I was right, while I was devastated. I stopped playing soccer altogether."
"I didn't feel at all, but it was over. I have strong faith and I thought maybe this is a signal to take a different path."
While she was busy dedicating her energy to study, her friends convinced her to try in a club she had been rejected from before. She agreed and this time it was signed.
"The experience was better, possibly also because the coach was black," she says.
He soon began his degree in psychology and sociology and joined the football team of the University of Portsmouth, but sometimes he still felt a sense of non-belonging.
In April of last year, he seriously thought of discussion he had with two friends, about how they would someday set up their own team for women of ethnic minorities.
She took advantage of all her networks and was born Never Subestimate Resilience, or NUR.
The 21st of June The club held its first training session. Four weeks later 40 women had signed up.
"Finally, there was a safe space for women of color."
Around this time, Iqra had the opportunity to captain a team that represented Somalia in the Human Rights Cup in Cape Town.
"I always had a strong sense of Soomaalinimo (Somali nationalism)Therefore, leading the first Somali women's soccer team to play an international match was incredible. Half of the group was from London, the other from Somalia … everyone's Somali was tested that day! "
When she was a child, the Iqra Ismail school teacher told her that girls could not play football, but her mother supported her soccer dreams (Courtesy: Iqra Ismail)
To this day, she continues to think about identity and belonging.
"How can I represent a country that does not represent me?" she said, considering if she would ever play for England.
"Look at the racism experienced by Eniola Aluku, look at the current England squad, bar Nikita Pariss and Demi Stokes, does that represent their England? Because it does not represent mine."
Vivienne Aiyela, non-executive dDirector of the London Football Association, said women's football in the United Kingdom lacks diversity.
"Many young black women I know who play grassroots football do not see a future here in the professional game. The role models who look like them are far and few in the middle."
"I admire the United States team because as Captain Megan Rapinoe said, & # 39; We have pink hair and purple hair. We have tattoos and dreadlocks. We have white girls and black girls and everything else. We have straight girls and gay girls." .
Professional scouts in the United Kingdom, he said, should "stop thinking that only white women are good enough to play football … I always say: & # 39; If you can see it, you can be & # 39; ".
Meanwhile, Iqra has a broader mission than simply winning on the field.
"I want to see NUR expand, I want to instill my stubbornness in the next generation of soccer players, I want to help the growth of the women's game in Somalia," he said. "I want to spread my resilience philosophy."