One of the blemishes on what is called 'the beautiful game' is racism and discrimination and FIFA has been on the forefront of combating the issue. In 1961 it expelled South Africa from the organization for its apartheid policies, and thirty years later readmitted it when Nelson Mandela was released from prison and subsequently became president a few years later.
Racist incidents getting media attention in football venues combined with players increasingly leaving their home countries to play football in other nations prompted FIFA to convene a July 7, 2001 congress in Argentina to aggressively combat the twin problems of discrimination and racism in the sport. What came out of that congress is known in FIFA circles as the Buenos Aires Resolution. In addition to denunciations of discrimination and racism by FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, campaigns that involved the sports star players of both genders starting in 2002, the FIFA Executive Committee approved in 2004 a Code of Ethics that states "officials, players and players’ agents may not act in a discriminatory manner, especially with regard to ethnicity, race, culture, politics, religion, gender or language."
When incidents of fans shouting racist epithets at non-white players started spiking up at football venues in Europe, in 2006 FIFA began a 'Say No To Racism' campaign that continues to this day.FIFA President Blatter had to recently take himself to task and apologize when he made a December 2010 remark concerning future 2022 World Cup host Qatar that was perceived as homophobic and caused a firestorm of international criticism.
Blatter said gay fans should "refrain from sexual activity" if they go to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, a country that criminalizes homosexual conduct.
In the wake of that unfortunate comment by President Blatter and Nigeria Super Falcon head coach Eucharia Uche admitting to the local Nigerian media she purged suspected lesbians off the national team and it controversially rearing its head at the Women's World Cup, maybe it is time for FIFA to initiate another campaign and boldly combat like they are doing with racism and discrimination, homophobia and transphobia in the beautiful game as well.. Rampant homophobia has not only led to discriminatory actions such as Uche's, but the death of players from misguided people.
31 year old Eudy Simelane was a popular star player on the South African Banyana Banyana women's national team. When she retired from international competition, she became the first woman in South Africa to be certified as a referee.
Simelane dreamed of one day officiating a World Cup match, but that unfortunately is not going to happen for her. In April 2008 she was gang raped, brutally beaten, stabbed 25 times in the face, chest and legs and left to die just 200 meters from her home. It was not only because of her non standard gender presentation, it was also because she was an out lesbian playing in a macho South Africa a 'man's game'.
A former club soccer teammate of hers also suffered the same fate as well.
I added transphobia as an emphasis because as trans people continue to transition at earlier ages, it is inevitable that one day there will be a trans person born somewhere on this planet who will have the the skill and talent to play football at an elite international level. That transperson, whoever he or she may be will need to have ironclad rules in place that guarantees they can participate and be the best they can be.
The IOC Stockholm Protocols are a start, but FIFA also needs to spell it out in their rules as well.
But for now, FIFA needs to make it clear that transphobia and homophobia have no place in 'the beautiful game'. FIFA also needs to prepare to forcefully combat transphobia and homophobia in its ranks just as they have aggressively done for the last decade in combating discrimination and racism.
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