Salima Mukansanga Quotes

born 1988

Salima Rhadia Mukansanga (born 1988) is a Rwandan international football referee, best known for making history as the first woman to referee a match at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in January 2022, and as one of the first six women to officiate at a men's World Cup, at Qatar 2022. She is regarded as one of the most prominent women in African refereeing, and as a role model for girls and women in football.

Random Salima Mukansanga quote

69 quotes

"World Cup 2022: Salima MUKANSANGAto open door's for female officials" Salima told BBC Sport Africa.

"Something that [also] made me very happy was that the players respected me, and respected my decisions. Those big players are professional. They understand. They know. They can understand the situation."

"For me it was like a final game, I did it like a final and I thought 'this final will open the door for me and for the rest of the women - and at the next AFCON there could be two women or three women, why not?'

"Every male referee has that dream too because it's their biggest competition.But my dream is not focused on the men's World Cup. My dream is the Women's World Cup [in Australia and New Zealand]. That is my first focus.

"I come from a country that gives equal chances to women to do what they want which benefits them according to their ability and commitment. That's something that pushed me to be more active and to work hard on my career."

"Some countries still don't allow women and girls into football. They say it is not for girls. This is the moment to give them a chance and support them. The rest of the world can't understand that fact. This is the moment.

"I'm really happy but for the next time there is a lot to improve, every referee has a lot to improve and you cannot be 100 per cent good. I'm proud of the performance, but I need to work hard to go far and improve because with every game we are learning. We learn from every game."

"It means you are going to open the door for other women, especially in Africa. You are carrying a lot on your shoulders and you need to carry it well so that others can see that the door is open and pass through."

"I had my colleagues around me, the people who appointed me. They kept saying: 'forget the pressure, make it a perfect game and show the rest of the world that you are ready so that the women watching you can say, yes, she made it because she was confident of herself, she made decisions according to the laws of the game and she delivered what she had.'"