For the participants of the DFB’s “Future Leaders in Football” workshops, which began in World Cup host country Qatar on Thursday, the future is already here. Not only due to the various workshops, seminars and practical sessions on and of the pitch that started in Doha on 27th October 2022, but also due to how they have kept working in football in their home countries despite resistance against this. Now, a total of 20 young women from the Middle East are being helped to carry on this path.
The FLF Congress is being put on by the German Football Association (DFB), in close cooperation with the Qatar Football Association (QFA), the Qatar Foundation, and the Generation Amazing Foundation, one of the programmes of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy for the 2022 World Cup. As was the case with the two previous editions, the last of which took place in March in Jordan, the initiative will be strongly supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the German Society for International Cooperation (Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ) and the UEFA Assist Programm. There is also support from the German national team’s foundation “Wir für euch” (We are for you) and that of DFB partner Volkswagen, with their “Women playing football” campaign. #KeinFrauenfußball”, which campaigns for greater equality in football and society.
The aim of the FLF lighthouse project, under the motto “Developing Skills to Tackle Challenges in Sport and Society”, is to use the attention on the World Cup in Qatar to address social problems, foster a public debate and fulfill the DFB's socio-political responsibility in an international context.
"I knew on the first day that I was in the right place"
Dona Adel Rajab and Fatemeh Sharif have already written footballing success stories, and want continue in the future. "I was not sure what I should expect here at first. I had asked a few previous FLF participants and they all had the same reply: GO! You won’t regret it," said 31-year-old Dona Adel Rajab, who is assistant coach to German coach Monika Staab for the national team of her homeland Saudi Arabia. "After I had met lots of women from different countries on the first day of the FLF I knew that I was in the right place."
Fatemeh Sharif has previously played in the Iran Futsal national team, and is now continuing her development as the head coach of the women's Futsal team in her homeland, which she hope will benefit in the future from the content of the FLF workshops in Doha. "The ideas about management, leadership and culture that have been transferred to us at the FLF have opened new horizons for me, so that I will be able to be more successful as a coach from now on. These experiences will definitely be the basis on my future successes. I will do my best to transfer what I’ve learned from these workshops to women in my own country," said 36-year-old Fatemeh Sharif.
There are not only hurdles for these involved in football in Iran, it is also an experience that is shared by Fatemeh Sharif in Doha. "In my opinion, the FLF is a vision for the development of future leaders in women’s football and how they can overcome barriers. In this workshop, together with participants from different countries in the Middle East and Germany, I have learnt that there are various cultural issues for women’s football and we need to help so that we are can to further develop women’s football and women in football by empowering them. The best approach is to never give up,” said qualified electronic engineer Fatemeh Sharif, who alongside football also has completed studies in Marketing Management.
"Learn that we are not alone, but are here together to bring about change"
Dona Adel Rajab continued, "After only a few hours at FLF I am not alone in being confronted by these challenges. The FLF has brought us together, not only to get us in a classroom and make us listen to lectures, but in order to build connections and to create an environment where women feel at home and they can express themselves. Doing this means we can work towards our aim of improving football for women around the world. I feel honoured to have been a part of this and I am thankful that the DFB has brought the Future Leaders in Football Workshop into existence so that we could learn that we are not alone, but are here together to bring about change."
Dona Adel Rajab and Fatemeh Sharif are representative of all 20 of the participants at FLF: Their own stories have brought them to Doha, where the FIFA World Cup will begin in 20 days time. From here onwards they will continue of their path in football and into the future, with plenty of support and wind in their sails.
