The scene of a hijabi Muslim girl playing football is not something common. But members Sisterhood Football Club are breaking this barrier successfully.
With their hijab on, they have found the ultimate place to practice sport while preserving their religious tenets.
The Muslim women’s team players are clothed from head to foot in all-black colors, while almost all of them wear hijab.
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Founded 4 years ago, Sisterhood has doubled in size to almost 100 players, allowing its members to enjoy playing football without anyone querying their Muslim dress code.
“It’s a football club for Muslim women to come and feel free and relaxed and be able to play in their attire,” Kamara Davis, 30, told Reuters.
Converting to Islam at the age of 17, Davis thought she would never play football again as it seemed incompatible with the religion’s traditional dress.
When she heard about Sisterhood, she jumped at the chance to join the team.
“Honestly, it just feels so good, it’s like a release. It feels really nice when I am able to shoot the ball with power,” Kamara said.
Hijabi Footballer
Yasmin Abdullahi, Sisterhood’s Somali-British founder, said many female Muslim students were thrilled when she told them that she was playing football for London University’s Goldsmiths College whilst a student.
“They could not believe that they were seeing a girl that wears a hijab and saying that she plays football,” Abdullahi, a 30 year-old professional fashion model, said.
The Sisterhood’s club badge features the image of a hijab, barred by soccer’s world governing body FIFA on safety grounds in 2007. FIFA relaxed the ban in 2012, with the hijab fully permitted in 2014.
The Sisterhood is in line with other successful initiatives that have inspired Muslim women to pursue their dreams.
Nigeria’s Abdulazzez Zulfah is one of the few Muslim women who play football in her country. The 17-year-old believes her hijab is not a hindrance but an inspiration for other Muslim girls who may be interested in sports.
Jamad Fiin is also an American Muslim basketballer who launched new camps for basketball to change the game for young athletes, especially Muslim girls.
In order to play football while donning hijab, “Les Hijabeuses”, a collective of young hijab-wearing female footballers campaigning against the French football federation’s (FFF) ban, launched in 2021.