Falling In Love With Football

Zoeya, England

Muslimah Sports Association (MSA) aims to offer women and girls a safe and positive environment to participate in a number of different sports without compromising their religious or cultural beliefs. MSA delivered a sports project including football and basketball as part of the Barking Model City program, supported by Laureus Sports for Good. Zoeya, 16, is an MSA participant 

Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your sports journey up until now? 

My name is Zoeya and I am 16 years old. I am currently in year 11 and one subject I am studying is GCSE PE. I have been playing football with Muslimah Sports Association (MSA) since I was 11 and it has quite literally changed my life. My older sister began playing sports, so when I was around 8 I felt almost obliged to play as well. When I started playing football, I never truly loved it and there were never inclusive spaces where I could play and feel like I belonged. But when I joined MSA, I found a safe space to play football and finally found a passion for the sport.

When I was in year 5, I saw that the boys in my school were given more opportunities than the girls. They were meeting with the West Ham team, they had time to play on the football pitch, they had away games, all while the girls had little to no opportunities. So I decided to take it into my own hands and change this. 

I sent a letter to my headteacher and head of PE department, regarding my concerns, just like my sister did. After leaving school, girls who still attended my primary school approached me and told me that they were scheduled to play an away game against another school and they were being taken to West Ham stadium to meet players. 

This was a very proud moment for me because a few words from a 10 year old gave girls opportunities that I did not have when I was in primary school. After this, I joined MSA. MSA gave me an opportunity to play sports alongside other women and girls who looked like me. It became my safe space to play sports without feeling like the odd one out.

What did you try to capture with the photos? Was there a wider meaning?

The photos were taken in my local park where I spend a lot of time, at my football sessions which I attend every Friday, and in my grandparents garden. You can see my mum, grandparents, cousins, and two friends. 

My love for sports started with my mum, as she was always active and enjoyed playing with us as we were growing up. My grandparents have also always supported and joined us on weekly outings. My grandad is the person I always watch all my football matches with, as we both passionately support Manchester United! My cousins also join us in the park often and I always enjoy football with them as well. 

I have known my two friends Yusra and Abi since nursery and they have always been part of my journey in football and in many other parts of my life. I am thankful for such amazing people in my life! Unfortunately I do not have my sister Zaina in my photos, due to her exams, however we have always done all sports together and we share our love for football!

I was trying to show young girls that they can play football too. Specifically girls from BAME backgrounds, girls who wear hijabs, girls who can relate to me. So they understand that where we come from or how we look or what we wear does not stop us from doing things we love and playing sports. Especially sports like football which is still, no matter how far we have come, pretty white male dominated.

What role does football play in your community? Is football an inclusive sport that anyone can play?

Even though we talk about it a lot and we promote girls football, the sport is still white male dominated. We can try and include girls and we can encourage them but often they will look around them and see that the people playing alongside them do not relate with them in any way. Whether that be because of their different clothing, or the colour of their skin, or where they come from. 

So even though football is for anyone, we do not have enough role models in the media who relate to girls from these ethnic minority backgrounds, so younger girls are more inclined to not bother playing the sport because they see no one around them engaging in football. 

Football is an inclusive sport and it is a sport that any gender, age group and person from any background should play. As a community we need to bring in more organisations and facilities that focus on girls and give them female-only spaces where they can comfortably play football.

What are the opportunities for women and girls to play football in your community? What impact has the MSA program had on you and your community?

I think nowadays there are more opportunities for girls. We have organisations like MSA who are out there, working hard to ensure all girls have access to sports in female only environments, making sure that they can play football or any sport comfortably. Though I do admit, going to a girls-only school, although girls do participate in certain sports (when they are not faking an injury to get out of a PE lesson) football is generally not a sport girls play. 

Netball or tennis is more popular amongst girls and football is still deemed as a ‘boys sport.’ When I began playing, people always asked me if I was a tomboy, it was as if I could not just be a girl playing sports, I had to be a ‘tomboy’ playing a ‘boys’ sport. 

But thanks to MSA and many other organisations out there, football amongst girls is becoming more and more common. MSA provides girls and women opportunities to play football, indoors or outdoors, with no men around. I think it is extremely important for the comfort of girls to be around other girls, because they may not be comfortable wearing their sporting gear around men. And MSA provides girls with a safe space to play football without discomfort. Without MSA, I would not be as confident as I am today with football.

What does football mean to you? 

Football is my outlet. It is the highlight of my week and it is a time where I can forget about school exams or unnecessary worries and just play my sport. I have found a true passion in football and I encourage any other girl out there who has even the slightest interest in it to play the sport. Because once you start playing, you will fall in love with it.

What ambitions do you have for the future?

Whenever I think about my future, I see myself either coaching or having some involvement with sports. I am currently studying GCSE PE at school and I want to continue with PE at A-level when I reach college. So I want to continue with sport. I want to continue promoting football for girls and be a role model, so girls who look like me can look up to me and see that if I can do it, so can they. Because football is for everyone.

What do you think the future looks like for sport in your community and country? What do you want to change? How would you improve gender equality?

I think moving forward sports will be much more inclusive. There will be many more facilities and opportunities for girls and women. I think right now, we need more representation from women from BAME backgrounds, women wearing hijabs, and women in the media and to show young girls that there are people like them out there. Because if girls saw those role models, they would feel more inclined to play a sport since they have someone to look up to and relate to.