You Can’t Sit with Us. Discrimination against Women in Football: a Commentary of the Mariyam Mohamed vs. Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Elections Case

CGSL Working Papers no. 1/2022

19 Pages Posted: 21 Oct 2022

See all articles by Miguel Poiares Maduro

Miguel Poiares Maduro

European University Institute

Benedita Menezes Queiroz

Universidade Catolica Portuguesa Porto Law School; Católica Global School of Law

Date Written: September 2, 2021

Abstract

The present paper focuses on the issue of discrimination against women in sports governance. The first part of this paper addresses the issue women discrimination in sports governance through looking into the case of Mariyam Mohamed vs. Asian Football Confederation (AFC) elections, which was recently decided by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Further, the case analysis will also allow, in the second part of the paper to call the attention to several other malaises affecting sports leadership and decision making, such as the lack of transparency of the CAS decisions and their inability to deliver an effective remedy in situations like the one of Mariyam Mohamed. There was no question, for CAS, of whether the AFC electoral procedures were conducted in breach of the prohibition of discrimination against women and of improper third-party influence. Nevertheless, CAS recognized that it was also powerless to act on it leaving the situation unremedied for the time being, shedding light on a structurally more profound consequence to sports justice and other sports governance bodies modus operandi.

Keywords: discrimination; gender; sports; governance

Suggested Citation

Maduro, Luís Miguel Poiares Pessoa and Menezes Queiroz, Benedita, You Can’t Sit with Us. Discrimination against Women in Football: a Commentary of the Mariyam Mohamed vs. Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Elections Case (September 2, 2021). CGSL Working Papers no. 1/2022 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4239874 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4239874

Luís Miguel Poiares Pessoa Maduro

European University Institute ( email )

Villa La Pagliaiuola
Via delle Palazzine, 19
San Domenico di Fiesole, FI 50014
Italy

Benedita Menezes Queiroz (Contact Author)

Universidade Catolica Portuguesa Porto Law School ( email )

Rua Diogo Botelho
Porto, Porto 4169-005
Portugal

Católica Global School of Law ( email )

Lisboa
Portugal

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