She ain't done yet: Mary Njoroge breaking the glass ceiling

Mary Wanjiru Njoroge has done it again, this time, making it to the list of football match officials who will do duty at the Tokyo Olympics.

World governing body, FIFA, selected top referees Gilbert Cheruiyot and Mary to officiate the 2020 Men’s and Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. The women’s tournament is set to kick off on July 21, 2021, with the men’s tournament commencing on July 22, 2021.

"This is yet another dream come true for me. The Olympics are the epitome of sports and any athlete dreams of competing at the Summer Games. Being there to witness competition at that level and officiate at the Games is such an honour. I do not take it for granted," said a teary Mary in an interview. 

"It has taken hard work and resilience. There was a lot of intimidation on the pitch especially in the beginning but that has helped me to grow. I have officiated in big tournaments both locally and internationally but the knowledge that I will be at the Olympics still gets me excited and emotional,” she added.

This is yet another first for the professional FIFA Assistant referee whose journey to the world started on the dusty pitches of Kikuyu and Kabete. In 2019, she became the first Kenyan female referee to do duty at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France between June 7 to July 7. She was also the first Kenyan to feature in the Under-20 Women World Cup held in Brittany, France on August 5-24, 2018 where she officiated in two matches.

Her trend-setting does not stop with the women’s game as she was on the list when CAF broke new ground by including women referees for the first time to handle men's tournaments, during the 2019, Under-17 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Tanzania. 

Mary was earlier this year appointed to officiate the CAF Confederation Cup group stage match pitting Cameroon’s Coton Sport against Zambia’s NAPSA stars.

"Since the Women's World Cup in July 2019 there is no other major event that has happened. We had anticipated a busy year in 2020 but the pandemic put things on hold. I got to officiate the local league when it resumed and the CAF Confederation Cup this year but other than that I have kept busy with Elite courses, mostly online, just to stay on top of the game. Since we were not getting a lot of matches to take care of, I had to incorporate integrated training to gain the much-needed match fitness, in my workout routes so I'm ready to go," she offered. 

Born and raised in Kikuyu, she was indifferent in matters football while growing up and into high school. However, she joined a local team after clearing school just to keep busy and her journey to the highest level of the sport started.

As fate would have it, she chanced upon a refereeing class just around the time her local team was disintegrating and she decided to join in. She earned her certificate but did not officiate a match until two years later.

“I met my class instructor who helped me dive back into football. I started with local and Super Cup matches. The idea of a woman referee was still being frowned upon and there was a lot of verbal abuse. Having to do it in front of the locals and in pitches where the fans are so close to the action was not easy but it toughened me as a match official. In such a climate, you have to work on your mental strength,” she opens up.

Between 2009 and her biggest achievement yet, officiating at the Olympics, Mary has been on the local and international scene taking charge of both men’s and women’s matches. This, she says, would not have been possible without the help of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and fellow referees. 

“My first international match was an AFCON qualifier match between Ethiopia and Tanzania. I was still learning the ropes and the crowd gave me the nerves. 15 minutes into the match I was settled and that experience has helped me to date,” she reminisces. 

She has officiated in three senior Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) in 2014, 2016 and 2018. 

International matches

-AWCON 2014 in Namibia - 2 matches (including semi final, Nigeria vs South Africa)

-AWCON 2016 in Cameroon - 2 matches (including semi final, Nigeria vs South Africa)

-AWCON 2018 in Ghana-3 matches (including semi final, Cameroon vs Nigeria)

-FIFA World Cup U20 2018- 2 matches

-U17 AFCON (men) 2018- Third place playoff , Nigeria vs Angola.

- FIFA Women's World Cup