Playing For Our Homeland
Nagin Ravand, Denmark
Nagin Ravand is a Danish-Afghan football player, coach, and activist living in Braband, Denmark. As a child, she fled with her family to Denmark from Afghanistan.
She is currently the founder and director of Globall - an organisation that empowers girls and women from ethnic minority communities through football. Nagin also founded the women’s football team at Vatanspor Football Club, a club based in Brabrand. She also works as a project lead at Unisport and represents several organisations fighting for minority rights. Nagin aspires to become the first Muslim woman leader in the international football structure.
Nagin told us her story of leaving Afghanistan aged 3, discovering football in Denmark, the importance of diversity and inclusion in football, and tackling stereotypes.
Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your football life?
My name is Nagin Ravand, I am 23 years old, and I came to Denmark as a refugee with my family when I was 3 years old.
I have played football for as long as I can remember, but when I was younger I remember having to overcome more obstacles and barriers than the other children. That became my motivation to bring change and create an easier path for the next generation of minorities - first by being their role model.
I recently graduated with a BSc. Education Science degree, am an advisor to the European Commission in the field of discrimination in Sports, and am a part-time football coach, hoping to go professional someday. I am an ambassador of several organisations that fight for minorities, including Plan International Denmark and the Danish FA - and I am part of the Danish Ministry of Culture's Youth Advisory Board.
What did you try to show with the photos?
The photos were taken at Vatanspor Football Club in Brabrand, Denmark. Vatan means 'homeland' so Vatanspor means ‘Homeland Sport’. I usually tell people that our club Vatanspor is a club for all, and that when you do not know where you belong, the pitch is there to remind you that it is your home.
The women are the players from our senior women's team. It is a team that I created in early 2021, since there were no teams in our neighbourhood. Today, there are more than 25 women over the age of 18, who show up every Monday and Wednesday to practice or to play matches. Some of them do neither, but just show up to socialise. The team consists of previous Danish Youth national players as well as people who have never touched a ball in their entire life. The pitch is our home ground, that is where we harmonise.
Was there any wider meaning with the photos?
I wanted to show that football is not necessarily 11 men standing on a pitch. Likewise I wanted to show that football isn't necessarily 11 women with blonde hair and shorts standing on the pitch. Football has no permanent frame or image. Football is about diversity and inclusion. Football is for everyone everywhere. So if you ever catch yourself thinking that it is too late, or that football is not possible or even something for you - think again.
Did you play football before you came to Denmark?
I never had the chance to fall in love with the game of football before coming to Denmark. When arriving in Denmark at first I was not exposed to it either, until when I was around 9 years old and I was introduced to football. One day my friend Elizabeth and I had arranged to meet, but she forgot she also had football practice. Instead of cancelling our ‘playdate’, she just brought me with her to football. That decision changed my life. Therefore inclusion is so important!!
Why did you leave your country?
We had to flee from Afghanistan because my father was politically persecuted and was forced to flee the country to Iran, where I was born. My father was a journalist in Afghanistan and fought the Taliban for the people’s rights, he wanted democracy and to feed the poor. He wanted a better place and a better country for the Afghans. He also wanted for us to have an education and for my mother to work, but at that time it was not possible in our country.
He was a well known man for his political and journalism skills and you would always see him on the news or on other media giving speeches and raising his voice. For this he was politically persecuted. The Taliban caught my father and tortured him in a prison for a long time, until his friends rescued him. After this it was clear that he had to take the decision to fight for all of our lives by fleeing the country.
The suffering of people in Afghanistan is taking a lot of my mental focus, so I really want to be able to do something - for those who made it out, but also for those who are still there.
Why is football important to you and your community?
Football is the one thing in this world that can include everyone. It is the only thing in the world that is good for everyone and not bad for anyone. It is healthy competition, it forces teamwork and it creates a unique language that everyone understands. A language that is way more than the letters of our alphabets and it has laws that go way beyond the laws of society. If you can play football, if you are willing to be a part of the football world, you will always have a place and a role in the bigger picture.
Football has no gender, no language, no country, no race, no look. It is the one game that is played and won through differences. You will never score with 11 goalkeepers, instead you need 11 different people with different strengths and weaknesses. Just like the way society should be built in my opinion.
What role does football play in your life at the moment? Who do you play with?
I am a playing coach. My main focus is on coaching and developing my coaching skills, but at the same time I don't want to stop playing, so sometimes I join the team I coach. Currently I am taking coach education courses alongside my academic education. I just recently completed my UEFA B2 Licence and am now going for the B3.
I work at Unisport and am the project lead on our Unisport Scholarship, which is an opportunity for passionate footballers around the world to make a positive impact in their communities.
What are the opportunities for female footballers in Denmark?
The opportunities for women are good in Denmark - if you are a part of the majority and look like them. Of course women’s football is not equal to men's football, but women’s football in Denmark is progressing. My main focus is not the women. It is the minority women. I feel like, and my experience tells me, that they are always one score behind in this matter when it comes to exploiting their options in the football world.
What ambitions do you have for the future?
My main ambition is to show the world that the female footballer can wear a hijab and pants, just as she can wear a ponytail and shorts. I want to break down the stereotypes, give hope to the younger generations of minority females, and show them that you can be and do anything you want, even if it means you have to fight harder than everyone else. But that is also my mission at the same time. To make sure they will not have to fight harder, but are equal to everyone else. I want to challenge the odds.
