17 Sport’s Post

⚽️🏆 The countdown to the 24/25 Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship season has begun! With the Women's Professional Game now independently running the leagues, I am excited about the positive changes ahead for women's football. Expect new broadcast deals, increased brand and sponsorship opportunities, and enhanced club guidance. 📈 Exciting developments are already underway. London City Lionesses under Michele Kang's ownership, introduced Swedish captain Kosovare Asllani as a new signing, alongside Jocelyn Precheur as the team's new manager. The club is also investing in a new training ground and home stadium. 🚩 In contrast, some clubs are moving in the wrong direction. Manchester United's decision to prioritise the Men's team over the Women's by relocating them from their training facilities is disheartening. It's crucial to highlight such disparities in support for women's football, sending a negative message to aspiring young female players worldwide. Let's amplify this conversation to ensure equitable treatment across all clubs and support the growth of women's football. It’s time to advocate for equal opportunities and resources for women in sports. #WomenInFootball #EqualityInSports

New research published this month demonstrates a worrying trend that spectator racism within sports may be getting worse in three major Australian men’s leagues: the AFL, NRL and A-League Men. Daryl Adair discusses his latest findings in The Conversation Australia + NZ, how the sports leagues are responding and what more can be done in the article below. https://lnkd.in/gD7RwDmu #Sport #Racism #Research

In 2014, I was honored to contribute to the team who made it possible for women who wear hijabs to play in football tournaments. But this freedom still isn’t enjoyed by all women in the world. For example, French athletes are banned from wearing hijabs in the 2024 Olympic Games. Here’s my take on this: → We’re trying to get more girls and women into sports. So why are we excluding many Muslim women? It doesn’t make any sense. If we’re encouraging girls and women to play, they should be able to play in whatever clothes they feel comfortable in. → France has one of the largest Muslim population in Europe. And yet, the rules implicitly exclude them from sports. → The goal of the Olympic Movement is to use sport to build a peaceful and better world. Without discrimination of any kind. The ban is clearly at odds with that. We need a complete overturn of the hijab ban so that all women can freely play sports. Regardless of their religious or cultural background. It's time to ensure inclusivity and equality for everyone in the sports arena.

Sharing this online discussion that may be of interest to some of my connections. Also the FIFA and FIFPRO report on online abuse during the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ is worth reading. Takeaways include "Players at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ were 29% more likely to be targeted with online abuse compared with players at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™" It's clear that not all sports have the resources to address this in the way football does. There is considerable need for greater collaboration across sport to tackle this issue. With several reports indicating that females in sport are disproportionately targeted by online abuse, and with 2024 forecast to see huge growth in AI where generation of inappropriate non consensual images is already affecting women in the public eye, this needs addressing as a matter of urgency so it doesn't just displace the problem from football to other sports. https://lnkd.in/ekjBdV4H

In light of recent developments, it's crucial to address the exclusionary policies impacting hijab women in the upcoming 2024 Olympics in France. French authorities have imposed a ban on athletes wearing hijabs, citing the nation's strict secularism laws. This policy has sparked significant controversy and backlash from various human rights organizations and advocates who argue that such restrictions are discriminatory and undermine the inclusive spirit of the Olympics. Amnesty International has criticized the ban, stating that it violates Muslim women's human rights and hinders their participation in sports. This prohibition is seen as part of a broader trend of laws in France that disproportionately affect Muslim women, reinforcing gendered Islamophobia and exclusion from public and professional spheres. Furthermore, this ban contradicts the inclusive policies of international sports bodies like FIFA, which allows women to wear hijabs during competitions. Critics argue that the Olympic Games, which claim to be gender-equal and inclusive, should not enforce such restrictive measures, as they prevent athletes from competing freely and expressing their cultural and religious identities. The backlash has led to calls for boycotting the Paris 2024 Olympics and demands for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to take a stand against these discriminatory practices. The ongoing debate highlights the importance of ensuring that all athletes, regardless of their religious beliefs, have the right to compete without compromising their identity. It's essential for the Olympic movement to embody true inclusivity and respect for diversity, ensuring that all athletes are given equal opportunities to participate and excel on the global stage. What are your thoughts about it?

On Internatioal Women’s Day, its crucial to acknowlege that while we’ve made strides, there’s still a long jorney ahead. This is very much the case in international sport politics. Danmarks Idrætsforbund (DIF) has just released the latest Sports Political Power Index and it reveals a stark disparity: out of 133 presidents in international and European federations, only 9 are women. That’s 93,2 % male leadership! If we look at Europe 95,6 % of presidents are male. 😳 The trend isn’t new and it isn’t improving. It echoes the data from 2017, 2019 and 2021. If we try to look at the positive, the overall representation of women in international sports federation positions has grown from 17 % to 24,8 %. - But that is far from enough! Let’s use this data as a call to action. We can do better. #internationalWomensDay

🧵 NEW REPORT 🚨 “We can’t breathe anymore. Even sports, we can’t do them anymore” 🇫🇷🧕🏽 Violations of Muslim women’s and girls’ human rights through hijab bans in sports in France ⚽️🏀 🏐 #Paris2024 “Banning French athletes from competing with sports hijabs at the Olympic and Paralympic Games makes a mockery of claims that Paris 2024 is the first Gender Equal Olympics and lays bare the racist gender discrimination that underpins access to sport in France,” Anna Błuś In France, the prohibition on Muslim women from wearing any form of religious headgear extends far beyond the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Bans on hijabs are in place in several sports including football, basketball and volleyball, at both professional and amateur levels. These bans, put in place by sports federations, mean that many Muslim women are not only excluded from participating in sports but also never get the necessary training and competition opportunities to reach the Olympic level. France’s exclusionary bans cause humiliation, trauma and fear and have resulted in many women and girls dropping out of sports. It violates, among other rights: ❌ Freedom of religion ❌ Freedom of expression ❌ The right not to be discriminated 🤐The IOC has so far refused to call on sporting authorities in France to overturn their bans on athletes wearing the hijab at the Olympics and at all levels of sport. The IOC claimed that the ban was outside the remit of the Olympic movement, claiming that “freedom of religion is interpreted in many different ways by different states”, ignoring that it violates other rights protected in its human rights framework Norges idrettsforbund also refused to stand up for French athletes, despite having an international strategy called “values worth standing up for”, that specifically says Norwegian sports authorities should raise concerns about tournament-related human rights abuses.

Banning Muslim athlete from participating in Olympics opening ceremony segregation — MFA Maria Zakharova emphasized that this case, as well as previous decisions on Russian and Belarusian athletes show that the modern Olympics have nothing to do with the goals of the Olympic movement declared more than a century ago in Paris and contradict the Olympic spirit MOSCOW, July 26/ Denying dark-skinned French track and field athlete Sounkamba Sylla, who practices Islam, the right to take part in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, is a blatant act of segregation, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. "Another blatant act of segregation occurred on the eve of the Olympic Games in Paris. Black French track and field athlete Sounkamba Sylla, who is a Muslim, was denied the right to participate in the opening ceremony of the Games. The French Olympic Committee cited the ban on wearing a traditional element of clothing during sporting events," the report says. Zakharova emphasized that this case, as well as previous decisions on Russian and Belarusian athletes show that the modern Olympics have nothing to do with the goals of the Olympic movement declared more than a century ago in Paris and contradict the Olympic spirit. "Once again, the principle of ‘sport beyond politics,’ sacred for many generations, has been trampled upon in the spirit of neoliberal diktat by the ‘collective West,’ represented by the French sports authorities. Contrary to the statements of officials in France about the desire for diversity and freedom of expression, dissenters are demonstratively exposed to sanctions," the official concluded. #business #finance #financialservices

I add my support for the assertions made by the presenters during the session, 'Political neutrality: A utopian dream for sport', at Play the Game 2024. The presentations can be accessed via Play the Game's LinkedIn page. Friba Rezayee, is one of Afghanistan's first female Olympians. Friba's account of the eradication of women's sport in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the country's central government, is shocking. It is also shameful that the Afghanistan National Olympic Committees' (NOC) is publicly stating enforcement of the banning of Afghan women from sport. The possible scenario that Friba shared is a call for every sports human rights activist to stand up. It is completely unacceptable that, due to violations of the International Olympic Committee – IOC's Charter, the first team to enter the opening ceremony of Paris 2024 will be all men. Walking and waving to the crowd under the black and white Taliban flag. That is completely contrary to spirit of Olympism and MUST be prevented from taking place. Katarina Pijetlovic's presentation spoke very loudly to me. Katarina's argument regarding the application of double standards by sports governing federations, such as the IOC, FIFA and UEFA, in relation to the treatment of Palestine, was flawless. Based upon the precedence of similar historical sanctions, and contrasted against those applied to Russia after it's invasion of Ukraine, Katarina gave precise and compelling evidence to warrant similar sanctions being taken against Israel for their actions in the war with Palestine. For me, Katarina's most powerful statement was in relation to the men that lead these sports governing bodies. She said they "must take their heads out of the sand", and that they have, "a statutory duty to apply sanctions to Israel. They must apply rules equally to all parties, because if not applied equally, they are not rules, but tools for discrimination in the hands of power players in world politics." These two courageous women add tremendous voice to the call for change in our sports governance standards. This change must include us addressing the patriarchal systems that continue to control our most powerful sports organizations. Only then, will we be truly able to dream of a Utopian world of sport. #sports #humanrights #governance #womeninsports #Olympism #spiritofsport ttps://https://lnkd.in/grNZaMSc

It’s been a decade since hijab-wearing women were finally allowed to participate in football tournaments. And being directly involved in making history in this way is one of the biggest achievements of my career. It’s also one of the greatest steps forward for diversity in sports, particularly for women. But it took so long to happen, and certainly wasn’t an easy path... ❎ In 2007, a Canadian football player, Asmahan Mansour, was not permitted to play in a tournament unless she removed her hijab. In response, her team withdrew from the event. ❎ In a 2011 Olympic qualifying match against Jordan, Iran’s women’s team were banned from playing because of their hijabs - despite complying with Fifa’s requirements. ❎ In 2014, Qatar’s female basketball team forfeited their opening match at the Asian Games after being refused permission to wear the hijab. I was part of the Roundtable discussion with HRH Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, who at that time was vice-president of FIFA and head of the Jordanian Football Association. Interestingly, throughout our enquiries, the reasoning for the ban kept changing. First, they said the hijab was banned because FIFA would not permit religious symbolism on the pitch. But they soon realised this was too difficult to enforce due to the multitudes of male players who wore crosses, had religious tattoos or would perform religious gestures after scoring. So then, we were told that the hijab presented a health and safety concern. Yet there is no empirical data or evidence that a hijab can strangle a player or injure an opponent. We did not give up the fight. We spearheaded campaigns and partnered with Right 2 Wear, the United Nations and Fifpro to put pressure on Fifa to approve the hijab. Finally, in 2014, the CAS ruling announced that religious head coverings would now be allowed on the pitch so long as they met Ifab medical regulations. It was an excellent outcome but this freedom isn’t enjoyed by all women of the world as The French Football Federation maintains their ban, meaning hijab-wearing women in France continue to be excluded from playing in football matches. For now, it’s a bittersweet victory… I hope we can one day see a complete overturn of the ban and true representation on the pitch across the world.