Women’s football matches? They’re better than the men’s, FIFA’s chief women’s football officer Sarai Bareman says

As the Women’s World Cup draws near, FIFA executive Sarai Bareman says fans will see fast games with a higher level of integrity.

FIFA’s chief women’s football officer Sarai Bareman. Picture: Getty Images

You were born in Auckland, to a Samoan mother and a Dutch father. How do you decide which team to support? I support New Zealand. The only time I’m conflicted is when New Zealand plays Samoa; I have a very strong link to Samoa so I do switch my allegiance when they’re playing each other … and I support the Netherlands in football.

Your dad was a rugby coach, your mum was an aerobics instructor, and you grew up playing rugby. How did football become your career? I joined it in my early teens. Those are the years where you’re more influenced by your peers, and that’s what all my friends were playing. I went with them one lunch hour; until then I’d been a rugby player. It wasn’t much longer before I switched to football – and became the black sheep in my family.

Are women’s football matches different to men’s? I would go so far as to say that at the highest levels they’re even better. At men’s games at the highest level now you see men diving all over the place and trying to milk penalties. You just don’t see that in the women’s game. It flows faster and there’s a higher level of integrity.

Before becoming an administrator, you played football for Samoa. How does your current job compare? There’s always some pride in wearing the national flag on your chest for a national team. But I have to be honest, when I played for Samoa there weren’t a lot of matches. I played during a time where it was very much still a developing sport. We were washing our own uniforms, wearing hand-me-down kits from the men’s team, training on the second pitch because the men were training at the same time. 

How did you react when you learned the FIFA Women’s World Cup would be held in Australia and New Zealand? I was sitting in the FIFA council meeting, and being a FIFA official I was wearing my FIFA suit with the FIFA logo. It’s very important that I’m neutral. But when they announced Australia and New Zealand I wasn’t able to hide my delight. I managed to control myself physically and stayed in my seat, but my expression said everything, and the neutrality I’d maintained until then went out the door.

You expect the World Cup to help break down some of the perceptions that exist in parts of the world around women’s sport. What are those perceptions? Football is historically male dominated. If you look at our 211 member associates around the world, the president and general secretaries of the majority of organisations are men. With the World Cup, every four years those decision makers are exposed to the full potential of women’s football. They see the commercial value. They see the full stadiums. They see the game being cast all over the world. The naysayers suddenly get their eyes opened and they understand the power of the game and that it’s the biggest growth opportunity for football today.

  

How does the football culture in Australia and New Zealand compare to the rest of the world? Australia is a sports mad country; I have never experienced a more competitive sporting environment. I think what makes football so popular in Australia is the Matildas. They’re homegrown heroes. New Zealand is a bit more challenging. It’s a rugby nation through and through. I don’t think the Kiwis are ready for how big this event actually is.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup runs from July 20 to August 20. The Matildas play a final warm-up match on July 14.