UN Urges Women Footballers To Be Allowed To Wear Head Scarves

United Nations has asked FIFA to permit Muslim women to wear headscarf while playing. World football s governing body, FIFA, has been urged by the United Nations to permit Islamic women to wear a specially-designed hijab headscarf while playing the sport.

On Saturday, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) at its general meeting in the United Kingdom will review the laws of the game regarding the use of headscarves by female players.

The initiative was initially taken by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) Vice-President Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein on behalf of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Wilfried Lemke (pictured), a special adviser on sport to UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, has written to FIFA President Sepp Blatter, expressing his support for the initiative, being driven by Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan who will recommend a revision of the laws of the game.

Lemke’s letter said the time has come to allow players to have “the right to wear a safe, Velcro-opening headscarf in FIFA-regulated matches and competitions”.

Last year, Iran’s national women’s team was prevented from playing an Olympic Games qualifying match against Jordan because they refused to remove their head scarves.