Francina Khamali with colleagues[photo/futaa.com]Francina Khamali has dared where few women have. When the 2018 Kenyan Premier League season kicks off next month, Khamali will be among referees lining up at various venues to officiate matches, joining a list of just a handful women who have plunged into the male-dominated field.
However, breaking the glass ceiling has come with its fair share of challenges for the 29-year-old. After a largely successful playing career, Khamali was forced into officiating after her dreams of playing professional football hit a brick wall and she has never looked back.
“I played for Wiyeta Girls High School for three years and helped them clinch three national titles and one East Africa Secondary School crown before joining Matuu FC which was based in Karen, Nairobi in 2006. After that, I was called in the national team,” says Khamali.
The deal falls through She added: “I was privileged to play for my country against Nigeria in World Cup qualifiers the same year although they beat us away before we battled them to a 1-1 draw at home.”
“After those matches, officials from a top Nigeria club expressed interest in my friend and which saw them come with a lucrative deal to sign both of us but the deal fell through after some corrupt football bosses wanted to make a kill from it,” she said. She went on: “That experience left me frustrated and I decided to hang up my boots and venture into officiating.”
From then on, Khamali started attending refereeing classes under the tutelage of retired Fifa referee Maxim Itur and she singles out her colleagues John Imbwaga, James Saisi and also Fifa instructor Caleb Amwayi for encouraging her.
She would then start by officiating off-season tournaments before graduating to lower tier matches and now, her hard work and patience have paid off as she is set to make her top-flight debut.