Nouhaila Benzina and Morocco blazing a path of inclusion at Women's World Cup

Sechs. That was the number of goals scored with precision by Germany on Morocco's Atlas Lionesses in their Women's World Cup debut on Monday.

Germany, ranked No. 2 in the world, is a strong contender to win the tournament and their star striker, Alexandra Popp, is on course to win the Golden Ball (for best player) and possibly the Golden Boot (as top scorer). 

I am captivated by the Moroccan team, and so were many of the more than 27,256 fans that attended the match at Melbourne's Rectangular Stadium.

Morocco (known as al Maghreb in Arabic) is the first Arab country and North African team to qualify for the Women's World Cup. Their men's team thrilled football fans and surprised supporters all over the world just six months ago at the men's tournament in Qatar, advancing all the way to the semifinals before losing to France. I stood alongside exuberant fans in Doha who cheered and celebrated irrespective of the result. A pride just swept across the entire region. 

I am cognizant of the importance of their presence at this tournament because of Nouhaila Benzina. She is the first hijab-wearing player at a senior Women's World Cup. (Jordan hosted the U17 WWC in 2016 and a few of their players wore head scarves.) Benzina became a symbol for inclusion in a sport that not too long ago did not permit hijab-wearing women to play.

I am one of the few journalists in the world with an expertise on Muslim women in sport, and uniform and hijab accommodation, having covered hijab bans by FIFA, FIBA and other international sports governing bodies for more than 10 years. I know what it took to open the doors for women who look like me and millions of others who love this sport — and I understand the impact. 

At the pre-match press conference, a journalist asked Morocco's skipper, Ghizlane Chebbak, about Benzina and the impact she might have. Chebbak did not answer that question directly and while it could be that the FIFA translation service was not spot on, it could also be something more layered. 

Watch Soccer North Live Wednesday July 26th at 10:30 am ET on cbcsports.ca and the CBC Sports YouTube Channel for post-match analysis of Canada vs. Ireland with Andi Petrillo and Diana Matheson.

After the squad was announced in early July, I reached out to contacts at the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and they told me that they would be happy to discuss the issue of hijab after the tournament. Perhaps they do not want her to be known for her hijab and instead for the footballer she is. She has the right to control the narrative around her. 

I also talked with Moroccan journalists about Benzina and the importance of her hijab. They told me that questions around her hijab aren't asked by Moroccan media. For them, it is completely normal. Athletes in different tiers and leagues play with or without hijab and both are readily accepted. 

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Muslim-majority places don't struggle with juxtapositions or perceptions of covered Muslim women who play elite sports like Western countries might — for them it's just the same. But as someone from Canada, who is a part of a small minority who wears hijab, it matters how it might affect other Muslim girls from racialized communities who aren't vastly represented.

My friend, Dr. Nida Ahmad, is a sociologist who specializes in Muslim women in sport and is in Australia. She told me that even after the match, fans stayed for more than an hour just to keep supporting the team.

"We danced for almost an hour and waited for the team to send them some love," she wrote in a text message and attached a wonderful video of fans with tambourines or flags cheering happily.

The people love the Atlas Lionesses. As they should. There has been huge investment in football in Morocco and the women's side is not an afterthought. There is a movement of girls' football, a revolution on the pitch. It comes with a ponytail or with a hijab and it is booming. 

Prior to the game, manager Reynald Pedros said the Moroccan federation gave him "carte blanche" and offered resources and support in whatever way the team needed. That Included unlimited access to the beautiful Mohammed VI football complex in Salé, outside of Morocco's capital of Rabat. The vision for advancing women's football comes from a four-year plan that was established in 2020. It focuses on supporting grassroots development programs and the professional leagues. Morocco is the only country in the world that has two tiers of professional women's football. 

But one of the most impactful aspects may be off the field, which is not lost on Chebbak. Prior to the match, she talked about shouldering a big responsibility and inspiring the other footballers in Morocco.

"We are not here just to make up numbers. We are here to compete," she said in Darija, the Moroccan dialect of Arabic.

While representing and inspiring is crucial, the goal of the Atlas Lionesses is to play soccer and play it well. This is a testament to their goals. Pedros added that support from back home was "fantastic, exceptional and unimaginable". 

It's refreshing to see attitudes of support and encouragement from the federations of new teams at the Women's World Cup — and ones that can set positive precedents. 

Yasmin Mrabet plays for Morocco and in an interview with BBC Africa before the tournament she said: "What I'm achieving here in Morocco is for something bigger than just football. We want to get big and we're not stopping."

There are times when soccer isn't about the score or the technical playing, it is about the legacy and creating paths and opportunities for those young girls who come after.

Their first match may not have had the result they wanted, but Morocco is winning in other ways. The impact of their first appearance can be heard from the cheering of young fans on the streets of Casablanca, playing on the beaches of Essaouira or from the stands in Melbourne.

Or it can be felt by a young girl in Canada who wears a hijab and sees Benzina training with her team and knowing that she, too, might have a future on the pitch someday.