FIFA names woman to executive committee for first time
BUDAPEST (Reuters) -- FIFA co-opted a woman to its executive committee for the first time on Tuesday and continued its reform process by pressing ahead with changes to its ethics committee.
Lydia Nsekera, the president of the Burundi Football Association, will be installed as the co-opted executive committee member at the 62nd FIFA Congress this week with the formal election of a woman on the committee to follow at next year's Congress, soccer's governing body said in a statement.
Nsekera, 45, is a member of the women's football and the women's World Cup committees and is also on the organising committee for the Olympic Football Tournaments having been part of the IOC since 2009. ...
Kicking Back Comments: It would be sad to think that this move came out of exclusively an effort to reform, and not also out of a sense to include someone who is deserving to be an EXCOM member. She is president of the Fédération de Football du Burundi since 2004, and has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 2009. Far more credentialed than some others who currently hold a seat.
Either way, I'll take it, as it is a step in the right direction.
Special thanks to Andy M. for bringing this one forward when I was away.
Women have made forays into men's soccer
Kari Seitz is one of just two female FIFA referees from the United States and has officiated the highest level of women's soccer, including last month's World Cup.
Seitz refereed the third-place game between France and Sweden, the top match a U.S. official could work in the tournament since the American team was in the final.
But Seitz, 40, said she would not be as good a referee if she hadn't worked both men's and women's soccer.
She has been a FIFA referee for 12 years and believes she is the only person -- male or female -- to officiate four World Cups. She also has worked two Olympic women's tournaments. ...
Kicking Back Comments: An excellent read, with some excellent comments from Kari that puts part of the world of high level refereeing in perspective. It is clear the glass ceiling still exists for so many well qualified women referees. Kari, I believe is a trend setter, and an exception.
It would seem this is not a problem that only refereeing has in the US. Take a look at the Soccer America piece, 'Coaching still a boys club,' says Vardar's Miriam Hickey. In it Hickey briefly details why in her opinion that is true. I wonder if those same reasons translate to refereeing?
She makes another interesting observation as well. From the article:
SA: Why is American youth soccer so much more expensive than in other countries, such as the Netherlands?
MIRIAM HICKEY: Only the professional clubs and top amateur clubs have professional staff. Everybody else can do with volunteers, but the sport has been there for a 150 years. In my family everybody played. My uncles, my father, my grandfather. That’s how it is in every family. So you have knowledgeable people directing the sport and so you don’t spend a whole lot.
The fields are city fields, and you don’t have to pay for them. There’s only one association that leads all the different leagues. So you have a really good pyramid going from 4-year-olds to 60-year-olds. And, of course, it’s a smaller country.
This comment was telling for me and led me to a question. How rich is our soccer heritage here in the US? Most folks who want to get involved (bless them) generally have never played the game before. Makes me a little scared as I get ready to open another youth season this Saturday.
I channel those newer referees who have played their whole life, getting yelled at by parents who have never kicked a ball before. What's wrong with that picture?
Kicking Back's Comments: In an unsurprising (but good for CONCACAF) move by FIFA, Canada has been selected to host the 2015 Women's World Cup. It was disappointing that where there were seven bidders originally, only Canada remained after Zimbabwe dropped out on March 1st, making FIFA's decision a Hobson's Choice.
While our FIFA Women's panel is not very large, it is led by one of the best (IMHO) woman international referees, Kari Seitz. I am interested to see, who will be picked for this prestigious tournament, and equally interested to see if Pia's salary goes up in 2015, her World Cup Year.
FIFA passes off to Canada
FIFA HAS KICKED the ball into Canada’s corner. Now it’s up to Canadian soccer to do something with it.
Thursday’s announcement that Canada will host the 2015 Women’s World Cup was hardly unexpected since the Canadian Soccer Association was the sole bidder remaining from the seven that originally showed interest, but its selection will have a ripple effect across the country. ...
See the full story here, courtesy of ChronicalHerald.ca.
Kicking Back comments: For some time now I have been following LE's work at the Examiner and have enjoyed her articles. The other week the Examiner caught up with me and I shared a few candid thoughts about women referees in todays professional and international game as well as some thoughts about MLS refereeing and the use of technology.
As the interview is intended to demonstrate, I very clearly believe that women referees are just as capable as men. Success in any referee depends on their ability to manage a match both through the laws and through their personality. Anyone who is able to do so will succeed in such a role.
While there are very few women currently employed in (men's) professional league matches, and I can not think of any in recent (men's) international matches, I opine that doing so, and therefore challenging the thinking of everyone involved, may not be such a bad thing. I do recognize however that doing so may run against social constructs and in result, may decrease the entertainment value of THE game for some.
Just one persons opinion ... but please read on and comment away ...
All comments are welcome, and I will answer them all.
No female referees in MLS: a referee assessor speaks
As part of an interview with former MLS referee and current state assessor Peter Kokolski about officiating in MLS in 2011, we discussed the absence of women officials in the North American league. Kokolski refereed in MLS for eight years. Kokolski is not affiliated with U.S. Soccer and his opinions are his alone based on many years working with U.S. Soccer. He regularly shares information and thoughts about officiating in his blog Kicking Back. In a separate story, Kokolski explains MLS referee directives to manage with personality in 2011. ...
See the full story here from LE courtesy of the National Soccer Examiner.
Why is football knowledge measured by the offside rule?
The row over remarks made by Sky Sports presenters Richard Keys and Andy Gray about female assistant referee Sian Massey centres on the offside rules. But why is the offside law such a benchmark of football knowledge? ...
One thing that my father taught me when I would referee as a youth is a healthy disrespect for authority. While like most kids I would imagine, I was taught by my parents to always be polite, say "please", and "thank you", and generally be nice. One other lesson that was taught was to "respect your elders", which was essentially everyone else at my tender age as I started refereeing.
My dad carved out an exception for me though. He allowed me to use appropriate language and acts to make and defend my decisions inside the field. Essentially I was allowed to (appropriately) stand my ground with my decisions regardless of how the adults involved felt about it.
This was very liberating to me personally as it allowed me to do what I thought was right and appropriately challenge some of the assertions. This had a positive effect of letting some of these youth coaches know I was not a doormat and they would get comments back to out of bounds criticisms. This may actually have been the genesis of the BAYS "Zero Tolerance" policy, which was derived shortly thereafter with my dad leading the charge, while serving as BAYS referee commissioner, and thankfully with the full board in support.
Granted in my youth I blew it a few times and constructive comments at times degraded slightly (not overly). Also, I was not always correct in my interpretation about what I was calling. Fortunately I was not a prisoner to "confirmation bias" and even then had a few folks who would gently guide me in being less aggressive with my comments and a better listener and referee.
Later in my career what I found was that there are many, many people who really don't understand the LOTG, as the "experts" here clearly demonstrated. I say that fully realizing that your typical youth parent does not, as would your typical adult player. Where I became surprised was my time in MLS and the brief touch with the international game that a percentage of those players and coaches do not understand aspects of the LOTG either. I was floored and continued my policy of challenging the incorrect ... in a more appropriate way these days.
Now beware, there are folks that know an awful lot about the game that inhabit youth fields, and certainly at the professional and international level. Don't assume that you are better because you are wearing the badge. Take an objective look at your performance later, but don't be bullied into calling something a particular way from pressure from someone who may think they know more, or better. Sian knew better. I suspect the other blokes do now as well.
If you want to see what can happen when you assume, take a look at the clip below from the ageless Benny Hill ... it speaks for itself.
Sky Soccer Presenter Andy Gray Is Fired After Remarks
Sky Sports soccer announcer Andy Gray, who made sexist remarks about a female assistant referee at the weekend, has been fired by the U.K. broadcaster.
“Andy Gray’s contract has been terminated for unacceptable behavior,” Barney Francis, managing director of Sky Sports, said in a statement. “After issuing a warning yesterday, we have no hesitation in taking this action after becoming aware of new information today.”
The new evidence relates to an off-air incident in December, Sky said, and came to light after Gray had already been disciplined for his disparaging weekend comments on match official Sian Massey.
See the complete story here, courtesy of Bloomberg.
Does anyone think it is tougher to be a woman referee? I have an answer, but judge for yourself.
Kudos to Jenna Powell for finding this one.
Andy Gray and Richard Keys comments about assistant ref Sian Massey 'make my blood boil', says Karren Brady
West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady admits off-air remarks by Sky Sports presenters Richard Keys and Andy Gray about both herself and Premier League official Sian Massey made her "blood boil".
They concurred that female officials "don't know the offside rule", with Keys adding: "I can guarantee you there'll be a big one today. (Liverpool manager) Kenny (Dalglish) will go potty." ...
See the full story here, courtesy of the Telegraph.
