Women footballers in Morocco

I find it amazing how football, a truly global game which is immensely popular and accessible to almost every social/economic class around the world, is still restrictive when it comes to gender. However, things are changing. Morocco, where I am currently working, is most likely seeing its first generation of women participating in a sport that has in the past been reserved for their brothers and fathers. There are similar situations all over Africa and the Arab world. Cheap satellite television brought players like America's Mia Hamm and Brazil's Marta Vieira da Silva into households that had yet to see women playing. Every since the mid 90s and the increasing popularity of the Women's World Cup, the game is no longer seen as solely a male activity. That being said, there is still an immense lack of opportunity, at least in Morocco, for women and young girls who want to play football. Many still battle a social stigma that doesn't apply to other sports such as basketball, handball or volleyball. This blog is dedicated to some of my observations in Morocco through my work in various sports development based initiatives as well as observations on where women's football across the globe is heading.