A Homeless World Cup first: playing and refereeing in the same tournament
|Isha Silare with Homeless World Cup referee Ed Kiwa Image: Anita Milas
Isha Silare, 22, had the busiest day on the pitch today. After she played two games for team India as their captain, she changed into referee kit and stepped back out onto the pitch as a line manager for the game between the Korean host team and France. But the highlight of her day was at 4.40pm, when she was the first referee ever to be match official and player at the same tournament, at the Sweden - Norway game.
When asked which of the two roles she preferred, she did not have to think long: “Refereeing! I love this job! I like playing too but really, refereeing such a big international tournament is like a dream.”
Isha got involved in street soccer to the Slum Soccer India programme. After playing regional and national tournaments, she was selected for the national team representing India. She also was selected to join the Homeless World Cup Referee Training Programme, which came to India last year. Former player-turned-referee Adil Leite delivered the training. It did not take long before Isha knew: refereeing is what I would love to do.
Today, on pitch 1, her dream came true, much to her own surprise. “The referees told me yesterday that they wanted me to referee a game today. I was very nervous, but then I told myself that I could do it. I just needed to do my best every time I go out onto the pitch, whether it be as a player or a referee.”
Her coaches, fellow players and referee colleagues could not be more proud. ”You can do it Isha!”, shouted Adil from the sidelines. “Are you ready?” asked linesmen Paul Nagtegaal and Michel van Oudheusden. “Yes!”, was the confident answer.
For referee Adil it brought back memories of his own first game as a referee: “I was so nervous too. I know how she feels, but she is doing great.” After blowing the final whistle, she was applauded by all the referee team that had come to watch her performance. Smiling from ear to ear, she said: “I really, really, really enjoyed it. It was so great! I would love to do it again!”
Words: Danielle Batist
Image: Anita Milas