We are living in a time where muslim women are shattering glass ceilings from the film industry to the fashion industry all the way to the sports industry. Breaking down barriers and opening up doors, these women are truly redefining what it means to be a muslim woman. But for women in Islam who consider their religious belief a fundamental aspect of their life, the challenges that they may face within the male dominated industry like sports is unprecedented.

The 20 year old UK born Somail runs a football club dedicated to women footballers of different ethnic backgrounds. Giving young girls that look like her the opportunity to play in the minor leagues under her supervision. But the road to creating her own team was one that was met with resilience and patience. I had the opportunity to speak to Iqra on her journey and what being a muslim woman in football means to her.

“my love for football started at 8 years old, sort of like a defiance act”

Iqra’s love for football began at the early age of 8 and she described her first few experiences playing the sport as a “defiance act” because it was a “boys sport”, but eventually she fell in with the sport. As a young muslim woman myself I could imagine that Iqra had to face multiple obstacles to get where she is. Not just from the outside but inside her own community. Iqra stated: “ It was difficult seeing backlash from my own community because they were always on my back. I met a habayar (aunt) on the way to a park and she used to play basketball and basically gave me the best advice. So when I think about those that told me to stop playing, I always remember her words.” At the age of 16 Iqra was offered a scholarship to play in America but her mother disagreed. She explained: “For about 6 to 7 months I didn’t play football and I just felt extremely unmotivated. I wasn’t myself, it was a massive part of my life I had to go back to.”

The journey to creating her own club was a bumpy one. It all started after she was rejected after a trail: “myself and two of my friends went to a trail at a club and got rejected. Because of my stubbornness I went to the trail again and realised ability wise we are miles above the rest, but we still didn’t get picked. The reason was pretty obvious.” During a february fundraiser event last year Iqra had a trail and the turn up was unexpected. It was then she realised something important and special can be created here. Even during her birthday holiday in Greece she couldn’t stop thinking about creating her own club: “In April I went to Greece for my birthday and all I could think of was what my team logo was going to be. So this is something I realised should happen. I was in a group chat for Somali football coaches and I was nervous at first, but I ended up asking for advice. They gave genuine feedback, paperwork, and passed me onto the people who helped me build NUR. Soon we had 40 girls turning up to our trial.”

With my busy schedule as a student, I cannot imagine how Iqra manages between being a university student and manager: “Really and truly it depends on how my timetable is set up. I set up early meetings, then go to the library, lecture or seminar. It gets difficult but utilising my calendar is important as well as having effective time management.”

Iqra is motivated by the thought of young girls who look like her being inspired to join the sports industry and those who join her Thursday training sessions wearing her kit. Amirah, NUR WTC player, describes her experience playing for the team: “It’s wonderful. Everyone has a good time but it also provides lots of opportunities for player development. NUR is currently playing in 2 leagues and we are going to be playing in 11 aside leagues at the end of the summer.” Amirah adds that outside of the team the girls have created a sisterhood- “we really support each other such as helping the younger ones out with UCAS or promoting someone’s business.”

“Parents will never be happy.”

Quite often when we hear about the Somali community in the media, it’s negative coverage. With the constant focus on individuals being involved in knife crime it’s very rare we hear about a Somali woman breaking barriers. Iqra Ismail advised young boys and girls that “Parents will never be happy. Make your own glass ceilings, set your own target, figure out what you want to do and it is okay not to know. It’ll come with time.”

With viral videos on twitter to Nike adverts to the youngest winner at Football Black List, being recognised in public is still odd to Iqra: “It’s crazy to me, especially when we go out. As Somalis we stare and usually don’t know why. But when people stare at me I know it’s because I look familiar. It is a lot of pressure knowing that people know who I am but then I remember I’m doing it for a reason. Exposure for me means exposure for my club and exposure for my community.”

“Exposure for me means exposure for my club and exposure for my community.”

Amirah emphasised the importance of Iqra’s success in creating NUR. she stated: “What Iqra has done is very rare in football. She has created an organisation run by women for women. By creating a club for young girls that look like her she is actively fixing the problem too many of us faced.” Lack of representation was a problem Iqra was fixing. Most clubs are predominately white so girls like Amirah and Iqra felt like the odd one out having to compromise a huge part of their identity to play football. Although the Fifa hijab ban was lifted in 2014, many young girls lost their passion for sports because of it. Amirah emphasised that Iqra created a space when it felt like there was none for women of colour in football.

Within the next few years we can only hope to see the success of NUR WFC and more women of different walks of life playing the beautiful game of football.