Makalima reflects on successful FIFA Women’s World Cup as an official

With the curtains officially brought down on the FIFA Women’s World Cup™, the African flag was flown high and brilliantly represented by Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia at the global stage. 

For the first time ever, Africa secured three knockout stages in the competition in what was a first of many for Africa. 

While this was an exceptional achievement by the African nations, it is also worth noting that Africa was well represented in the officiating of the tournament. 

A total of 10 CAF referees were present at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, representing eight African nations, namely Cameroon, Kenya, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Rwanda, South Africa and Togo. 

In an exclusive sit down with CAFOnline, Akhona Makalima, who was part of the ten shares FIFA Women’s World Cup experience.

Your first reaction when you got the news that you will be heading to the World Cup?

Heading to the World Cup was really an emotional day. I was filled so much gratitude to say, finally my hard work is paying off and I've been selected for the highest competition of women football in in the world, so I was really filled with gratitude. It was a happy day for myself and for my family and for the country.

How would you describe the feeling and pressure of being at the World Cup?

I didn't really have so much pressure, but I was looking forward to meeting up and learning from other match officials and also getting experience and being taught by one of the best instructors in in the world. I also told myself that I need to take it each day at a time, one session at a time so that I don't feel overworked. I didn’t feel overwhelmed or that there was too much workload. I took the advice that I was given at the previous training session and how do I incorporate that into my next session so I would take each day at a time but obviously it's the World Cup and you don't want make mistakes. You want to be the best at it.

This is not your first international experience; did it make it easier that you have officiated in big international competitions before?

This was not my first international experience, but this was the biggest competition I have attended in my career, having been a senior world cup for women. The expectations are higher. Every detail counts, preparations are higher and tougher. Training sessions, technical sessions, theory session, everything is really difficult. So, the competition was good and harder and higher with a lot of work to do. It demands the highest level of yourself, resilience, concentration and fitness. The standard is very much demanding as the higher you go, the tougher it becomes.

What do you make of the standard of female referees on the African continent? 

The standard of the female referees on the continent is amazing. We really have a good official in Africa, and I think we need to celebrate that. I think we have good referees that understand football because nowadays it's all about football understanding and how best can you manage the game and Africa has proven that it has quality referees. I mean you've seen how our sisters performed at the World Cup so we really should be proud of Africa, and we should really thank CAF and our federations for the opportunities.

What would you like to see happening to help grow and unearth more female referees on the continent? 

I think more than anything, more regular game time, more trust in female match officials and obviously us taking up space and not shrinking ourselves. If you want to perform at the highest level, you need to be at your highest performance standard. The opportunities are there for us, the harder we work, the more doors we open for younger match officials. The development structures that are put out there by CAF on the continent are the same as those put out there for our male counterparts, so it’s a matter of making sure that when we are transitioning we go at the same pace and not afraid when given the opportunity

What are some of the frustrations that you still encounter as a female referee? 

People will forever question you your existence as female match official. Doubting your skills and doubting if you are up to task. They will always want to make you inferior but for me, it’s not really a frustration but a matter of people being open minded. The world is changing, and we need to change with the world. Do not judge me based on the fact that I am a woman. Judge me on my performance because my job is not about whether I am a female or a male but about good performance and results.

Any word of advice to aspiring women referees on the African continent?

I would just say, go for it! Trust in your qualities. Trust in your skills, trust in your personality because nobody can be you and that it should be your biggest flex. 

If you want to perform at the highest, just start now by working hard and make sure that you are forever the hardest working person in the in the room. 

You must never look over your shoulder. If you want to compete with anything or with anyone and just look at the person in the mirror. That is your biggest competition. Look at that person every day and try to be better version of yourself every day. You must always have a plan and make sure that you better yourself.