A pioneer: this is how we could sum up Bibiana Steinhaus-Webb’s career as a referee. The first woman to officiate in the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ and the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament, she also became, in September 2017, the first to officiate a match of Bundesligaduring a match between Hertha Berlin and Werder Bremen.
Appointed head of FIFA’s Women’s Refereeing department in October 2024, Bibiana Steinhaus-Webb recently spoke at FIFA headquarters in Zurich as part of a series of one-hour workshops for staff of the body and featuring entrepreneurs as well as leading decision-makers. The objective: to disseminate best practices, promote professional development and challenge preconceived ideas.
“There is no shortage of role models within the FIFA Refereeing sub-division, since we have among us luminaries such as Pierluigi Collina and Massimo Busacca, who have enormous experience, both in matters of arbitration than management,” she explained. “We have a group of highly experienced technical instructors, made up of referees, assistant referees and video referees based around the world. We can say that we observe football from all angles. »
A former police officer, Bibiana Steinhaus-Webb rose through the ranks one by one before reaching the top as a referee. A journey which, however, has not been a long, quiet river.
“It took me 22 years to officiate matches in Bundesligathe most prestigious men’s competition in Germany. Twenty-two years of training, preparation, effort, a lot of matches, and as many lessons, joys and sorrows,” she told FIFA staff. And to emphasize that “training leads to perfection”.
“I refereed three seasons in Bundesliga before moving into a management position. »
-A true pioneer in her field, Bibiana Steinhaus-Webb now wants to serve as an example to other women in a sport historically dominated by men.
“Both women and men can hold leadership positions,” she says.
“It’s all about the quality of decision-making. It’s not a question of gender. People are getting used to seeing more and more women referees. And that’s no problem because they are very competent, simply because they prepare in the same way as their male counterparts. The competence of the referee has nothing to do with gender. »
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