The first female referee in a final in the Arab world Bouchra Karboubi

Another historic record, another step towards the moment in which certain things will no longer make the news. Bouchra Karboubi will be the first woman from the Arab world to direct a men’s football final. This is the final act of the Cup of the Throne, the national cup of Morocco, of the 2019-20 edition, suspended due to the pandemic. To compete in Agadir will be the FAR Rabat, the team of the Royal Armed Forces, and the Athletic Tetouan which is in the second division. The match will take place on Saturday at 4 pm and one of the assistants, Fatiha Jermoumi, is also a woman. Last year Karboubi became the first female referee to referee in the Moroccan top league. She has been international since 2016, but in January she was one of the referees designated for the African Cup as Var, contributing to the very positive performance of the entire Moroccan referee group in the competition.

Dreams

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Bouchra, at 34, has realized the dreams of his life: to become an arbitrator and work in the police, where he holds the position of inspector. But it was not that easy, because during his adolescence he had to face many cultural obstacles, which today fortunately have been reduced. Her siblings were persuaded to support her only after the approval of her parents: they told her that football is a thing for men, they tore off her flags, they didn’t want her to play with them. She began refereeing in 2001, leading the women’s top league and since 2014 she has passed the physical tests too to be designated for the men’s divisions. And her climb, record after record, seems destined to continue inexorably.