Inclusion in sports? Not for hijabi football players in France

Football is called “the beautiful game” for its simplicity and universal appeal. All you need is a ball, a few teammates, and voilà, the dreams are yours to make.

Except if you are a Muslim woman in France who wears a hijab.

France’s highest administrative court (Le Conseil d’Etat) has ruled that the French Football Federation (FFF) can continue to prevent anyone playing, coaching or officiating on a French football pitch from wearing religious symbols – even if such a ban limits freedom of expression and conviction.

The Conseil added that the FFF’s ban is appropriate in order to “prevent clashes or confrontations”.

The ruling went contrary to the recommendation of its own public rapporteur, which called for the annulment of the FFF’s rule that prohibits “the wearing of any sign or dress ostensibly manifesting a religious affiliation”.

According to the rapporteur, neither “proselytism” nor “provocation” occur by simply wearing the hijab, and there is no “requirement of neutrality” for football players since they are not public servants. The rapporteur also pointed out that football matches already include religious symbols, giving the example of players crossing themselves before entering the pitch.

Without a hint of irony, the FFF stated that the ruling gave it the opportunity to reaffirm “its total commitment to combating all forms of discrimination…” But the blatant discrimination was hard to miss.

A collective of hijabi players called “Les Hijabeuses”, has launched legal action against the federation’s ban. The federation’s hardline stance on “religious neutrality” on the pitch extends to banning a brief game pause to allow players an opportunity to break their fast during Ramadan.

Yet football federations in Britain, Spain, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands have no such problem.

The Conseil’s ruling contradicts official FIFA policy, which lifted its hijab ban in 2012. The FFF’s policy has had a painful impact on many aspiring French Muslim female soccer players, who have faced a choice between the sport they love and their faith.

Some have grown up in the same Paris banlieues that produced international stars and role models – Kylian Mbappé, Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kanté.

During childhood, some of these young female players faced opposition from their own conservative families, who deemed soccer too masculine. As they thrived locally, the families gave in – only to have the FFF turn their daughters away because of their hijabs.

Les Hijabeuses was formed in 2020 to ensure that all women can play the sport they love. They used social media to rally against the FFF’s initial ban, launching petitions and gathering support from the broader sports community, including Nike.

The members and their allies play soccer together, connect with other French teams and provide training sessions to encourage other young Muslim women to get into the sport. It is a refuge, providing a safe space for Muslims to be who they are while playing the sport they love. It is unclear what Les Hijabeuses will do following the Conseil’s ruling.

The ban is even more galling given that France is the only European country that excludes hijabis from playing in most competitive domestic sports, while it is unclear whether foreign players with hijabs will be allowed to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Unfortunately, the rest of the world has been silent on this issue. Not a peep about the exclusion of French hijabi football players in advance of the upcoming Women’s World Cup tournament in Australia and New Zealand.

Yet, in response to protests against Saudi Arabia’s treatment of women, FIFA reversed its sponsorship plans with Visit Saudi Arabia (Saudi Arabia’s tourism authority) for the Women’s World Cup. National soccer federations should mount a united stand against France’s discrimination of hijabi soccer players through boycotts and other measures. FIFA should sanction the FFF for violating official FIFA policy.

Raised in Canada, I have played soccer almost my entire life. I am an accredited soccer coach. I was the only hijabi in a women’s league, but no one ever raised the issue of my head scarf being a safety hazard; I can see the ball clearly, and the headscarf is not hanging loosely around my jersey.

Yet, Canada did not escape the “religious neutrality” debate.

In 2007, 11-year-old Asma Mansour was barred from playing in a Quebec tournament for wearing her hijab. Her team supported her by withdrawing from the tournament in protest.

At the time, FIFA ruled against the hijab, which it reversed in 2012, following the introduction of hijab designs deemed safe for soccer.

A Montreal-area teenager was prohibited from refereeing a game in 2011, while a 9-year-old girl was barred from playing after the FIFA reversal.

In 2013, the Quebec Soccer Federation (QSF) banned Sikh turbans, prompting the Canadian Soccer Association to suspend the QSF, thus disallowing any Quebec team to compete in national tournaments. The QSF quickly rescinded its ban. Since then, there has been peace on the soccer pitch.

With the Women’s World Cup just days away, there should be ample publicity about the FFF’s discriminatory policy against female hijabi soccer players – who will never get a chance to try out for the women’s national team.

And with the 2024 Olympics a year away, France’s discriminatory policy against the hijab in sports should be highlighted and protested.

Sports is meant to be inclusive. The French approach is anything but.