History has been made once more at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, with the first female player wearing a hijab taking to the field last night.
Nouhaila Benzina, defender for Morocco’s Atlas Lionesses, was part of the starting line-up in the game against Germany in Melbourne on Monday night.
Not only did the entire team make history as Morocco’s debut appearance at a FIFA Women’s World Cup, but Benzina was the first woman at the senior-level FIFA tournament to play while wearing a hijab.
Benzina told Al Jazeera she was proud to be a part of the history-making side, the first Arab women’s team to compete in a FIFA World Cup.
“Lot’s of hard work was done over many years and thank God it has had a positive result,” she said.
“We hope to play at a high level and can honour Moroccans.”
FIFA placed a ban on the hijab and other religious head coverings in 2007 when 11-year-old Asmahan Mansour from Canada tried to wear a headscarf at a tournament in Quebec. Officials on the grounds disallowed Mansour from wearing the hijab at the time, citing “health and safety concerns”.
FIFA officially banned religious headscarves following the incident. Official reasons for the ban were initially due to the “religious symbolism” of hijabs and other head coverings. However, this was difficult to enforce due to other religious symbols allowed on field in the form of tattoos, goal celebrations, players doing the sign of the cross and other symbols.
Headscarves were later listed as a “health and safety concern” and regulations were put in place to forbid “equipment that is dangerous to himself or another player”.
The ban on head coverings for both male and female players was lifted seven years later in 2014. Players are allowed to wear head coverings as long as they are basic and the same colour as the team colours on players’ uniforms.
Morocco is the first Arab women’s soccer team to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. They made their debut appearance in last night’s game against Germany, where they lost 6-0.
Their next game will be against South Korea on Sunday July 30 in Adelaide.