Courtesy-The Times of India
Finland’s football organization has begun providing free “sports hijabs” to any player who requests one, in an effort to increase the sport’s diversity. According to Heidi Pihlaja, head of development of women and girls’ football, the FA has issued “dozens” of the headscarves, which are made of technological, elastic fabric.
“It’s been really difficult to recruit ladies from immigrant families into football teams in Finland,” Pihlaja stated. “So, regardless of your faith or whether you want to wear a scarf or not, we wanted to create this program to welcome everyone. It doesn’t flap around as much as a regular shirt and you don’t have to tuck it in,” Pihlaja added. Nasro Bahnaan Hulbade, 13, told AFP during a training session at her VJS club in Vantaa, Finland’s capital. “It’s simpler to run in it,” remarked Kamila Nuh, a teammate.
The girls had been playing for one and two years, respectively, and claimed they were “overjoyed and appreciative” to learn about the complimentary headscarves from their parents. Cultural difficulties and expense, rather than the headscarves themselves, were frequently the biggest barriers to girls and women from immigrant families participating in the sport, according to Pihlaja.
However, she believes that providing the hijabs has “symbolic significance” in terms of making the sport more accessible. The system has garnered criticism “from some who believe it demeans women or brings religion into the game,” despite the majority of responses being “very favorable.”
Finland has the greatest anti-Muslim opinions out of 15 nations studied by the Pew Research Center in 2018, and the far-right Finns Party is expected to make historic gains in the country’s municipal elections later this month.
In response to the criticism, Pihlaja stated, “We support every woman’s freedom to choose whether or not to wear a scarf. We want to show that they are welcome wherever they wish to wear it, and that the headscarf isn’t an impediment.”