Peterborough’s Iqra Academy, an independent Islamic school, won the Muslim Schools National U15 Girls Football Championship on 3 December, which is sponsored by the English Schools Football Association.
In the final, which was held in Leicester, the Iqra team beat Al-Aqsa school from the host city 2-0 to win the title for a seventh time.

Team captain Shahida said all the players wore the hijab and while it was “not easy to compete feeling like the odd ones out” she felt proud of how far the team had come.

‘Don’t fit in’

The Iqra Academy in Bretton, Peterborough, has more than 100 students.
The school set up a football team in 2016 and has since competed in 250 matches and won 200 of them.

Shahida, who aspires to have a career in the medical field, said football was “a hobby and an outlet” for her. She has been competing for the past three years.

“We have worked hard to get to where we are. It is not easy to go out there and compete as [sometimes as] the only hijabi girls team. It feels like we don’t fit in. But in reality, you being the odd one out makes people to take notice of you,” she said.

“You know how Superman wears a cape – my hijab is my cape. It makes me unique, it makes me special. This is my identity. It is part of me. It makes me feel empowered. At the end of the day – they are girls, we are girls and playing a sport we love.”

Inaya, from Year 10, who wants to be a speech therapist, plays for the school’s cricket and football teams.
She said: “Sometimes opponents make fun of us. We feel there is a bias sometimes which puts us down. But we try to use that to give us motivation to win. Even if we face barriers we know we can overcome it.”

The girls said they felt “well supported” by both their coach and their families and called for more girls from diverse backgrounds to be encouraged into sports.

This year, the school was given the Equal Access National Award from the Barclays Girls Football School Partnerships, to highlight its contribution to girls’ football.

Michael Wright, the principal at Iqra and manager of the team, said he felt “extremely proud of the girls, who show such great commitment and resilience”.
He added: “The school’s development of football and health and wellbeing has had a dramatic impact on students, staff, and the whole school. Iqra is now a happier and heathier school, students are more confident and have greater opportunities in sports and health initiatives, to fulfil their potential as active British Muslim women.”

Source: BBC

Netherlands’ Muslim athlete Sifan Hassan earned global acclaim after receiving her gold medal at the final 2024 Paris Olympic Games ceremony on Sunday, August 11, while wearing a hijab, in a defiant message again France’s controversial hijab ban.

Sifan delivered an incredible burst in the final 250 meters of the women’s marathon, clinching gold with an Olympic record time of 2:22:55.

The Dutch runner had already picked up two bronze medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m races at this Olympics.

The 31-year-old became the first athlete to medal in all three of the long-distance events at the same Olympic Games since Czech Emil Zatopek in 1952.

In previous Olympics, the men’s marathon has taken place on the final day with the medalists being presented on the podium at the closing ceremony. Paris was the first Olympics to boast gender parity, and the women’s race was run on the final day meaning the women were presented with their medals at the closing ceremony instead.

While receiving her gold medal in front of fellow athletes and a packed crowd at the Stade de France, Hassan wore a maroon-colored hijab.

The image of her stood on top of the podium struck a chord with fans after the host country controversially banned its own athletes from wearing head coverings at the Olympics.

Social Media Reactions

Viewers took to X to praise Hassan with one user saying: “Sifan Hassan wearing her hijab to her gold medal crowning ceremony for the women’s marathon, after France banned females from wearing hijabs at the 2024 games. She is so powerful. What a woman!”

Another said: “Congrats to Hassan! Love seeing the image of her wearing hijab in the host country that banned its own athletes from wearing it.”

A third user claimed it was an ‘unforgettable moment for her and the entire world’.

Similarly, Instagram users praised her, with one commenting: “The last medalist of Paris 2024 is a woman who chooses to wear hijab. The irony of that being in a host country that bans hijab in sport is incredible.”

A person wrote: “How ironic! A slap in the face of xenophobic France, which prevented its own athletes from participating because of their hijabs. And there stands Sifan proudly receiving her gold medal while wearing her hijab. FANTASTIC!”

“SUCH A STATEMENT WEARING HIJAB THANK YOU SISTER,” a netizen added.

Last September, French Minister of Sports Amelia Oudea-Castera announced athletes representing France would not be allowed to wear the hijab.

Last September, French Minister of Sports Amelie Oudea-Castera announced that athletes representing France at the Paris Games would not be allowed to wear the hijab in line with the country’s secularism principle and rules against displaying religious symbols at sporting events.

The rule was swiftly met with a strong wave of backlash, as The Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation argued: “This ban contradicts the principles of equality, inclusivity, and respect for cultural diversity that the Olympics stand for.”

Amnesty International labeled the Hijab ban as “discriminatory” and “hypocritical,” a week before the Games commenced, and wrote: “French authorities made it emphatically and unashamedly clear… that their proclaimed efforts at improving gender equality and inclusivity in sports do not apply to one group of women and girls – those Muslim women and girls who wear religious head coverings.”

The human rights organization reportedly highlighted how banning the hijab was particularly jarring considering the 2024 Olympics was labeled as the first gender-equal Olympics – yet Muslim women were being discriminated against and singled out.

Source: MSN

Haniyah Kousar, who coaches at Impact Fitness Academy in Birmingham, said the singlet exposed the full leg and arms, with the neck line also being too low.

To compete at United World Wrestling (UWW) competitions, including the Olympics, participants must comply with uniform guidelines, which require women to wear a singlet.

“Religiously, we can’t show that skin,” Ms Kousar said.

However, students at the Impact Wrestling Academy said the restrictions would not stop them from aiming to compete on a global stage.

Student Asia said: “I dream of representing team GB in the Olympics one day and the singlet will not stop me from trying.”

One woman who could not take part in the final Team USA trials for the Paris Olympics due to the UWW rules was Jamilah McBryde.

She said: “Even though we were denied the opportunity to compete in the Olympic trials… we’re still going to fight for the right to compete, not only for myself, but for my younger sisters, for all young girls [not just Muslims], all young women for who wearing the singlet doesn’t feel comfortable.”

McBryde surprised the young girls at the Birmingham club via Zoom during one of their lessons and shared her story to empower them to fight on.

Ms Kousar, who is believed to be the UK’s first ever Muslim female wrestling coach, trains up to 20 young girls at the Impact Fitness Academy.

Despite international uniform restrictions, Ms Kousar said rules were more relaxed for competitions under the British Wrestling Association.

On their website, they say: “In line with making the sport more accessible, competition wear requirements have been relaxed for all levels of competition within the control of British Wrestling.

“For National and Club level competitions tight tops and leggings can be worn under a traditional wrestling singlet.

“For lower-level competitions, the requirement for a singlet has been removed though wrestlers will need to be clearly identifiable as either red or blue.”

Source: BBC

“If I think of basketball in England, there isn’t anybody else that I’ve seen who’s from a South Asian background, is Pakistani, is Muslim and wears a hijab,”

Hailing from Manchester, she not only plays and coaches for the Manchester Mystics but also competes in the Women’s National Basketball League Division 1.

She also represents Great Britain’s over-35s team, set to compete in the European Championship this summer in Italy.

Despite her successes might make the journey look easy, her path through the sport has come with its own challenges.

“There was a time where within basketball, you weren’t allowed to wear a hijab and that obviously changed,” Khalil added.

Taking the decision to wear a hijab in early 2010s, she was shocked to discover she wasn’t allowed to play while wearing the Islamic attire which was banned by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

In 2017 FIBA lifted the ban, meaning players did not have to decide between faith and sport.

“People just want to be able to participate comfortably. I potentially would have come back earlier if that rule wasn’t in place,” she said.

Joe Forber, Manchester Mystics co-founder and former Sports Personality of the Year Unsung Hero award-winner, described Khalil as a “role model”.

Source: AboutIslam.net

The French league had dedicated this matchday to promote its initiative against homophobia.

This is not the first instance of Mohamed facing consequences for this stance; a similar incident occurred last year when he refused to wear the LGBTQ+ themed jersey against Toulouse and was fined.

Despite the controversy, Mohamed has had an impressive season, scoring eight goals in 29 appearances for Nantes.

Source: AboutIslam.net