You probably saw it last night on the screens. Salima Mukansanga was the fourth referee on Tuesday, November 22 during the France-Australia match. She announced player changes, overtime. We saw her talking several times with Didier Deschamps. And she could perfectly find herself the main referee of one of the matches by the end of the 2022 World Cup.
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A Rwandan woman, at the top of world football, is not trivial. It is primarily an individual story and an express ascent. Mukansanga is 34 years old, she initially wanted to become a professional basketball player. And then, somewhat by chance, she found herself refereeing matches, pushed by a friend at school.
While taking a midwifery diploma, she applied for referee training. Application initially rejected. Reason invoked: too young. But she insisted. She rose quickly through the ranks: referee of the national championship in Rwanda, then at the beginning of this year the first woman to lead a meeting of the African Cup of Nations, Zimbabwe-Guinea. At first, she was looked down upon by her male colleagues, saying: “Yeah, she’s doing pretty well.” And then they ended up recognizing that she is doing very well.
It claims its role as a symbol for parity
She also fully assumes being a woman: yes, she says in essence, I don’t always run as fast as the male players, but I know how to position myself. And yes, sometimes a woman cannot referee because she has her period, the scheduling of matches must take this into account.
It is an individual symbol and also a collective symbol for Rwanda. This country of 13 million inhabitants was marked by the 1994 genocide which saw the death of more than 800 000 people, overwhelmingly Tutsis killed by Hutu extremists. Since then, under the authoritarian grip of Paul Kagame, the country has modernized rapidly and parity is more than a watchword, a reality. 60% of MPs are women, a world record. Half of the ministers are women, half of the university graduates too and Rwanda has the best literacy rate for young girls in Africa. Like the Secretary General of La Francophonie, Louise Mushikiwabo, Salima Mukansanga is therefore also the product of a system that puts women in charge in Rwanda.
Two other female referees during the competition
The French Stéphanie Frappart, 38, fourth referee Tuesday during Mexico-Poland, and the Japanese Yoshimi Yamashita, 36, for Belgium-Canada. The latter, a fitness teacher at the start, rose through the ranks to become a professional this summer and referee Champions League matches in Asia. That only ever makes three referees out of 36. And besides, in some press articles, Yamashita is taken for a man, a sign that there is still work to be done.
But it’s still a first. Especially since there are three assistant referees, a Brazilian, Neuza Back, a Mexican, Karen Diaz Medina, and an American, Kathryn Nesbitt. There is a real desire on the part of the international referees commission, led by the former whistle star, the Italian Pierluigi Collina, to feminize the refereeing corps. “The quality of refereeingexplains the former referee, has nothing to do with sex or gender.”