Challenge limits

A young person in a red shirt and black tracksuit lies on green turf, with arms behind their head, relaxed under sunlight.

Challenge limitsChampion dreams – with Iqra Ismail

Football is not just about scoring goals, it’s about passion and perseverance. British-Somali football player and coach Iqra Ismail channels her love of football into breaking barriers and supporting her community to do so, too.

7 June 2024 · 2 min read

Changing the game

In her own words, Iqra Ismail doesn't take 'no' for an answer. At 24 years old, she has captained the Somali Women's national team, directed women's football at Hilltop FC and works as a football coordinator for female refugees. Across her work, she supports and empowers players from underrepresented communities, for which she has been widely recognised. At the age of 19, she won a prestigious Football Black List award, celebrating the achievements of influential Black individuals in the sport, and in 2023, she was named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Iqra is an unstoppable force in football.

For Iqra, football embodies resilience. As a young Black Muslim woman, she didn't see many players like her growing up. So, she set out to change the game by creating the safe spaces she didn't have for the young players following in her footsteps. Her passion for football means she has not been deterred by people interrogating her from the sidelines, or even when opposition players tugged at her hijab. For Iqra, “Football transcends language, it transcends barriers, borders, all sorts of things." When it comes to the sport, there is nothing that could make her change her mind.

Own the field

Iqra discovered her love of football at 8 years old. Her older brother was a fan of London's Chelsea FC, which inspired her to watch the game and join her first club at 14. As a first generation British-Somali woman, Iqra reflects that she did not have a blueprint in terms of following a career path in football as a child. Instead, she looked to Chelsea legend, Didier Drogba, for inspiration, and Rachel Yankey of Arsenal Ladies and the England national team. She aimed to emulate the best qualities of those players on the field, but in terms of morale, manners and her motivating style, she counts her Mum as her biggest influence.

Iqra fell for the democratising power of football: how you can enjoy it on a professional and competitive level, as well as for the unrivalled fun of having a kick about with friends. “Where else would you be able to have this sense of community. It’s beautiful,” she says. Although she thinks that football has come a long way in terms of diversity and inclusion, there is still room for improvement in terms of how women from similar backgrounds as her own can express their love of the sport. In the future, Iqra wants to continue to take up space and allow her fellow Black, Muslim and Somali women to be able to do the same. “I hope we can be in a space where everyone feels comfortable to play or support their favourite team, without feeling unsafe or fear of being judged.”

Her advice for players starting out? "Don't give up," she says. “No one was going to allow me to be there, so I’ve had to push through the barriers, whether that be football or anything else in life, because you’ve got to take what you want.”