![\"Rosheen,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_RAR_280526_Eleeza_Rosheen_1jpeg.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAt just 20 years old, Eleeza Khan is already helping change the face of football in Wales<\/p>\n
Rosheen, 22 and Eleeza Khan, 20(Image: Eleeza Khan)<\/p>\n
Eleeza Khan may only be 20 years old, but she is already helping to change the face of football in Wales. Alongside her older sister Rosheen, 22, she became the first Muslim female football referees in Wales.<\/p>\n
Their achievement is paving the way not only for women in sport, but for young Muslim girls who may have never believed football could be a space for them too.<\/p>\n
The sisters\u2019 journey into football was not particularly planned. Instead, it began in the most ordinary way – sitting with friends at their local community hub, Grangetown Pavilion.<\/p>\n
Eleeza, a second year cardiff<\/a>-university>Cardiff University<\/a> student, said: “We were literally just chilling there with our friends and there was a referee there who was promoting the FAW referee diversity programme to try and get more people from ethnic minorities into refereeing.”<\/p>\n The sisters signed up for the course alongside several others, but only they completed the qualification.<\/p>\n “At the time, we didn\u2019t realise we were going to be the first people that looked like us doing it,” she said. \u201cWe only noticed after people kept coming up to us saying how cool it was to see Muslim girls refereeing.”<\/p>\n The sisters officially qualified in 2022 and quickly realised they were entering a footballing world where very few people shared their background. Stay in the know by making sure you\u2019re receiving our daily newsletter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Yet for Eleeza, football has been part of her life from an early stage. One of five sisters, she credits her dad for introducing the girls to the game from a young age.<\/p>\n “My dad really loves football, obviously he had five daughters, no sons, so he kind of shared that love with us instead. Every weekend we\u2019d watch football together and he\u2019d take us to play in the park.”<\/p>\n As a devoted Liverpool supporter herself (while Rosheen chose Chelsea) Eleeza said football became a huge part of their upbringing despite there being few opportunities locally for young Muslim girls at the time.<\/p>\n “There wasn\u2019t really anything that felt appropriate or accessible for girls like us growing up,\u201d she said. \u201cSo we never thought football could become something serious for us.”<\/p>\n Now, the sisters are helping create the opportunities they never had. Outside of refereeing, Eleeza is a qualified football coach who spends much of her time running sessions for children across Grangetown and Butetown. From school<\/a> programmes to summer sports camps and recreational football in local parks, her focus is on making sport welcoming and accessible.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s amazing now seeing how many young girls are playing football,” she said. “My little sister is 12 and she plays regularly and she\u2019s really good. When I was younger, I never had that.”<\/p>\n