Jawahir Roble on a Landmark Year for Women’s Participation

A Q&A with Jawahir Roble, a BA (Hons) Football Coaching and Management student at UCFB Wembley, published as the 2019 World Cup approached and the FA’s Gameplan for Growth aimed to double female participation by 2020. She argues that empowerment through football matters because of the stereotype that women are less able in male-dominated sport, and because girls need to see role models who have succeeded in the field. As National Regional Officer for London on the FA Youth Council, a role she took up after attending the council’s camp at St George’s Park in 2016, she delivered the FA Leadership Academy and worked with county FAs to build a young people’s network. Her ambition is to reach BAME girls who lack access to sessions, and she credits grassroots refereeing with teaching her resilience and organisation.