Twenty-year-old Raheela Zarmeen is a Pakistani footballer and the football manager of the Pakistan women’s national football team and Balochistan United FC. Princess Rubina Irfan, Raheela’s mother is the former President Pakistani women’s football.
She and her sister late Princess Shahlyla Ahmadzai made football career from a very young age. Quetta has no women’s football grounds so Raheela began playing football on a hockey field at the Girls College in Quetta. She acknowledges the support and motivation from her parents in selecting sports as a her vocation.
In October 2015, Princess Raheela became the first Pakistani woman to work as a coach of a men’s team, K-Electric F.C.
Raheela grew up not only playing football but also religiously watching it on television. There were a lot of players that inspired her when she was growing up, but one name stood tall: David Beckham. A player that she has actively tried to imitate, and calls him ‘a truly fantastic player’.
Zarmeen is the first ever Pakistani to acquire FIFA’s master’s degree in Management, Law, & Humanities, which qualifies her to work with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and FIFA.
Read more: Social venture helps Hazara women of Pakistan
In October 2015, Princess Raheela became the first Pakistani woman to work as a coach of a men’s team, K-Electric F.C. She is also the brand ambassador for the Leisure League, which is the oldest international small sided leagues operator.
Through Leisure League, she has started working on constructing football grounds projects in several cities in Balochistan to encourage women to play football. The football ground in Gwadar is now ready for women to come and play on. Her goal is to make sports, especially football, an easily accessible sport for girls all over Pakistan.