How Salima Mukansanga overcame rejection to become first female to officiate at AFCON

It was an ambition that was years in the making; an eventuality that was a matter of ‘when’, and not ‘if’. When Salima Mukansanga, the Rwandan referee, became the first female centre referee to handle an Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) match on Tuesday, a glass ceiling was shattered.

The 34-year-old refereed the Group B clash between Guinea and Zimbabwe at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde.

The match, which ended 2-1 in favour of Zimbabwe, saw Mukansanga achieve the milestone just a few days after being appointed as a fourth official in the game between Guinea and Malawi in Bafoussam.

Mukansanga is one of four female officials at the tournament although she is the only one who has been designated as a primary referee.

Initially rejected by Rwanda FA because of her age 

Mukansanga was born in 1988 in Rusizi District, West Province, a city about five hours away from Kigali, the Rwandan capital.

According to NewTimes Daily, a Rwandan publication, football wasn’t the first love of Mukansanga; she was captivated by another sport as a young girl and dreamt of representing her country at its highest level. However, access to the necessary facilities made her quit.

“I liked basketball and wanted to take it very seriously, but access to basketball infrastructure and coaches was hard,” she told the publication.

However, as she grew up, her attention shifted to football, and a specific aspect of the game tickled her fancy.

“I used to play football at primary and secondary school, but when I used to watch games, I liked to watch the one who was on the field of play, who was making decisions, leading players, talking to the players, the one who people are respecting on the field of play, and that person interested me,” Mukansanga told ESPN.

“I wanted to be like that person on the field of play, I wanted to do what he was doing, and I needed to learn more about that person, the one leading the game, giving them cards, sanctioning them. That’s why I had this passion.”

In pursuit of her passion, Mukansanga approached the Rwandan FA for a refereeing course straight out of secondary school, but she was rejected by the association on account of her age.

Rejected but not discouraged, she taught herself the basics of officiating by studying the game’s laws and handling local games in her community. A year later, she was eventually given the opportunity to pursue her dream.

FIFA-badge referee

Mukansanga became a FIFA-badge referee in 2012. The global recognition came four years after she had started handling matches in the Rwandan men’s second division league and the women’s top tier.

However, it wasn’t until 2014 that she handled her first continental game as the centre referee. The game was a 2014 CAF African Women’s Championship qualification clash between Zambia and Tanzania.

From there on, her career has steadily hitched a trajectory that has seen her become one of Africa’s most experienced female referees.

Continetal experiences

At the 2015 All-African Games in Congo Brazzaville, Mukansanga handled her first international competition.

She was the centre referee when the Super Falcons of Nigeria defeated Tanzania 3-0 in their second group game before officiating the first semi-final game between Ivory Coast and Ghana, which ended 1-0 in favour of the Black Queens.

Mukansanga was also named for the 2016 African Women Championship in Cameroon, and she handled two games — Soth Africa’s 5-0 pummeling of Egypt and Mali’s 3-1 defeat of Kenya — in the group stages.

International recognition

Mukansanga was the only African referee named among the officials for the 2018 U-17 Women World Cup held in Uruguay. She handled two games, including a quarter-final fixture between Germany and Canada.

In 2019, she was also named among the four African officials for the Women’s World Cup in France, and she was in charge of the Group F clash between Sweden and Thailand, which ended 5-1 in favour of the European.

In Tokyo 2021, Mukansanga became the first African woman to be the centre referee of a quarter-final match of the women football event at the Olympics. She, alongside Bernadettar Kwimbira and Mary Njoroge, handled the round-of-eight game between Great Britain and Australia.

Referee of the world’s highest-altitude football match

In 2017, she officiated the world’s highest-altitude football match on Mount Kilimanjaro for Equal Playing Field (EPF), an organisation focused on addressing the inclusivity of girls in football.

The Guinness book of world records recognised the venue as the highest point where a football game has been played.