The FA announced that women players across its leagues can now wear attire that aligns with their religious beliefs following an incident involving former Somalia captain Iqra Ismail.
Ismail, a longtime player and coach, revealed in an Instagram video that she had played in the Greater London Women’s Football League (GLWFL) for five years in tracksuit bottoms. However, on Sunday, she was prevented from coming on as a substitute for United Dragons because she was not wearing shorts.
“The Middlesex FA referee for yesterday’s game said that the league had told him strictly not to allow women like me to wear tracksuit bottoms ... if it matches our kit or not,” Ismail, a Muslim, said.
“If we do not wear shorts, we cannot play. That is what I was told yesterday.”
The FA said it was aware of the matter and was in contact with the Middlesex FA to ensure it is resolved quickly.
“We proactively wrote to all county FAs and match officials across the women’s grassroots game earlier this year to confirm that women and girls should be allowed to wear clothing that ensures their faith or religious beliefs are not compromised,” an FA spokesperson said Wednesday.
Reuters has reached out to the Middlesex FA for comment.
The GLWFL said in a statement it understood that players were required to wear shorts over clothing that covered their legs.
“However, we have since been made aware that shorts over tracksuits or tights are not required ... we will be providing this updated guidance to all our match officials and members,” the league posted on X on Tuesday.
