Jawahir Roble
MBE
Born 1995 (age 27–28)
Somalia

Jawahir Roble MBE (born 1995), also known as Jawahir Jewels or JJ, is a Somali-born British football referee. The Daily Telegraph has called her "the most remarkable referee in England".[1] She herself has said, "Who would ever think a black, Somali-born immigrant girl with eight siblings could ref a men’s game in England with a hijab on?".[2]

Early life

Jawahir Roble was born in Somalia, and grew up in north-west London with her parents and eight siblings.[1][2] She has said, "We always played football in the garden, in the house, outside, everywhere".[3] Roble is a Muslim, and wears a hijab when working as a referee.[3]

Career

In 2014, aged 19, she became more serious about how to encourage Muslim girls to play football.[4] In 2013, she obtained a £300 grant, and managed to involve Ciara Allan, her local Middlesex county FA women and girls football development officer.[4] In September 2013, Allen launched the Middlesex FA Women's League with a new Desi division for girls.[4] In return for refereeing games every week, Middlesex FA funded Roble's formal referee training.[4]

In 2017, she was one of eleven award winners at the Respect Awards, and collected the Match Official prize.[2] Roble's award was in recognition of her volunteering work for the education charity Football Beyond Borders (FBB) and with the Middlesex FA, coaching FBB's first women's team, as well as for achieving a Level Six refereeing qualification.[2] She is an FA Youth Leader.[3]

She has said, "Of course they're surprised to see a Muslim girl refereeing! I'm kind of short as well so they're like 'okay, what is this child doing here' ".[3]

Vision

In 2014, Roble then aged 19 wrote,[4]

I have a dream that one day my fellow Muslim sisters will happily play sport. My aim is to engage young Muslim girls into sports from the ages of 8 years to 15. My overall aim is to promote football as a tool to engage young girls and then to run workshops that help develop team building skills, boost confidence and also promote a healthy lifestyle.

Honours and recognition

She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2019.[5]

Roble was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to association football.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 White, Jim (8 May 2017). "Meet Jawahir Jewels – the most remarkable referee in England". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 November 2017 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "How a Somali-born girl became a ref of men's football". standard.co.uk. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Jawahir Roble: Football referee, Muslim woman, role model". hoopsapp.co. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Allan, Ciara. "Jawahir Roble's Story". www.capitalgirlsleague.com. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  5. ↑ "BBC 100 Women 2019: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  6. ↑ "No. 63918". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2022. p. N23.


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