Soccer and Politics/Religion

[Vic]

I believe the salient point is:

FIFA maintains that soccer’s international rulebook contains a section on player equipment, stating that “basic compulsory equipment must not have any political, religious or personal statements.

http://blog.taragana.com/sports/2010/04/05/fifa-ban-on-islamic-headscarf-bars-iran-girls-soccer-team-from-youth-olympics-in-august-91195/

All in all, pretty fascinating topic.

[Richard]

Some grist for the mill....

Muslim Canadian Congress wants Canada to ban the burka

TORONTO - The Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC) is asking Ottawa to introduce legislation to ban the wearing of masks, niqabs and the burka in all public dealings.

Plenty of other interesting reading on the MCC website.

[Jeremy]

This guy had some good posts on this subject in Canada...http://angryfrenchguy.com/

very interesting blog.

[Vic]

Hopefully one day someone resolves this issue so the women of the world all have a chance to not just play the game, but to do so with pride, respect, joy and without fear. In the meantime I think FIFA should suspend the men's programs of any country that imposes restrictions on women participating on religious grounds. Politics and religion are national, not gender-specific. If the women must suffer, the men must too.

[yomurphy1]

^I agree with you but that would be mean half of the AFC gets banned and we both know that FIFA doesn't have the balls.

[Richard]

I don't think it's a case of FIFA not having the balls, it would simply be a bad move for the world game to exclude so many muslim countries completely. It would not change the attitude of their men towards their women, just breed yet more resentment of the 'west'.

[Cheeta]

I believe the salient point is:

http://blog.taragana.com/sports/2010/04/05/fifa-ban-on-islamic-headscarf-bars-iran-girls-soccer-team-from-youth-olympics-in-august-91195/

All in all, pretty fascinating topic.

Agree and agreed.

In theroy I have to say I subscribe 100% with the ideal, and very strongly so.

In practice I have a difficult time telling someone who's adhering to what most would consider pretty harmless traditions and practices of a religion (like the wearing head scarves) that such religious symbolism disqualifies them from participating in this particular sport.

But, difficult or not it is what it is and I can see and support the logic in the reasoning.

[Vic]

I don't think it's a case of FIFA not having the balls, it would simply be a bad move for the world game to exclude so many muslim countries completely. It would not change the attitude of their men towards their women, just breed yet more resentment of the 'west'.

No woman on the planet should be denied the opportunity to play in the World Cup. And if you impose a sanction on a country for denying them that basic right, imposing it specifically on their women is sexist and discriminatory.

This is the Iranian Women's team in 2006:

This is them in 2008:

You will notice 8 of the starting 11 in 2006 wore a FIFA uniform with smiles on their faces. Now look again at the 2008. Apparently it is also not just untucked billowing long-sleeved shirt and pants, but joy.

[yomurphy1]

I don't think it's a case of FIFA not having the balls, it would simply be a bad move for the world game to exclude so many muslim countries completely. It would not change the attitude of their men towards their women, just breed yet more resentment of the 'west'.

Yes let's allow others countries to disregard basic human rights and not do anything about it because we don't want to make them mad.

If a country doesn't want to allow women to play than we shouldn't allow men to play.

[Richard]

^ You might not like it but that's the reality of international politics where idealism most often takes a back seat relative to pragmatism. Furthermore, there are much more profound human rights issues you should be concerned about than whether a country can enter teams in a soccer competition.

[yomurphy1]

^ I'd say gender equality is a pretty profound issue. Even though countries shouldn't be afraid to stand for their beliefs FIFA is in a unique as a multinational organization to avoid international conflict.

[jpg75]

No woman on the planet should be denied the opportunity to play in the World Cup. And if you impose a sanction on a country for denying them that basic right, imposing it specifically on their women is sexist and discriminatory.

This is the Iranian Women's team in 2006:

This is them in 2008:

You will notice 8 of the starting 11 in 2006 wore a FIFA uniform with smiles on their faces. Now look again at the 2008. Apparently it is also not just untucked billowing long-sleeved shirt and pants, but joy.

But Vic, if men watch them play soccer in regular attire they will be have uncontrollable urges....

[Richard]

You're stretching this issue to be representative of gender equity overall. There are much more profound gender equity issues in Iran and some other muslim countries than the game of soccer.

[Vic]

No disrespect to the ladies but I'm more interested in how they play the game and the main urge I get is from the second photo and it's to write Sepp Blatter.

FIFA's jurisdiction, and the issue here, is the game.

[Vic]

Kudos to both Tehran and FIFA for their flexibility to support Muslim women:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/05/iran-girls-soccer-team-to-trade-hijabs-for-hats-for-youth-olympics-.html

[18 Yards]

This is all too scary

[Vic]

A breath of fresh air from Qatar:

Qatar announces plans to form women's soccer league later this year

"There is already huge interest in football among Qatari women and the decision to create a women's football league is a significant step forward that will help underpin many of our plans," Ahlam Al Mana, president of the Qatar Women's Sports Committee, said.

"The more girls and women we can encourage to play football, the greater the long-term benefits for Qatari society as a whole, be it in terms of health, youth development, or promotion of equality and inclusion."

Qatar bolstered its [WC2022] bid last month by unveiling a US$4-billion plan to build nine stadiums and renovate three others — all with a high-tech cooling system which will aim to keep temperatures on the pitch at 27 C. The plans also include a new metro system that will link the stadiums.

Women's soccer, long overlooked in the Gulf in favour of the men's game, has started gaining attention in the past year.

The United Emirates, which hosted a regional women's tournament earlier this year, is talking of starting a league next year. Bahrain, too, has talked of starting a league.