Tokyo: When 3-on-3 basketball makes its debut at the Tokyo Olympics, referee Sarah Gamal will also be making a breakthrough, as an Arab and African woman officiating at the Games.
\nWearing a black hijab \u2013 a headscarf worn by many Muslim women who feel it is part of their religion \u2013 Gamal stands tall among the high-flying male players at Alexandria United Club, a powerhouse of Egyptian basketball with a rowdy fanbase.
\n\u201cFrom the start of my journey as a referee, I haven\u2019t heard one negative comment or faced any obstacles to me, being a veiled woman. The veil for me is normal and doesn\u2019t cause any problems,\u201d the 32-year-old told AFP news agency.
\nThe International Basketball Federation (FIBA) changed its rules in 2017 to allow players to wear the hijab under certain conditions.
\nTo attract a younger international fanbase, FIBA adopted the 3-on-3 competition popular on public courts around the world before the format was added to the Tokyo Olympic programme in 2017.
\nGames are played on a half-court with one basket, as opposed to the traditional end-to-end full-court play in the 5-on-5 game. To win, a team must reach 21 points first or outscore their opponents over two 10-minute halves.
\nGamal has had plenty of experience blazing a trail for aspiring female referees and players, including at the FIBA World Youth Cup in 2018 in Belarus and at the African Women\u2019s Championship in 2017.
\nWorking in a male-dominated industry as a civil engineer in Alexandria, she is not afraid of officiating male athletes on hardwood courts.
\n\u201cI have refereed men\u2019s games in the past and I have had a lot of success running them, which garnered the confidence of Egypt\u2019s refereeing committee.\u201d
\nGamal fell in love with the game at the age of five, learning from her older sister.
\n\u201cI was five when I started hooping. That helped me to organise my time between studying and training. It\u2019s all thanks to my mother, who ran a tight ship until I reached university and studied civil engineering,\u201d she told to AFP.
\n\u201cBeing the first Arab and African woman refereeing 3-on-3 games at the Olympics is a positive. There\u2019s no pressure on me and I am confident that this step will pave the way for other Arab and African women referees,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tokyo: When 3-on-3 basketball makes its debut at the Tokyo Olympics, referee Sarah Gamal will also be making a breakthrough, as an Arab and African woman officiating at the Games. Wearing a black hijab \u2013 a headscarf worn by many Muslim women who feel it is part of their religion \u2013 Gamal stands tall among […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n