Football: Fifa’s naming of supermodel as first fan rep tone deaf, says ex-council member

Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima arriving for the Best Fifa Football Awards in Paris, on Feb 27, 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS

SYDNEY – Fifa’s appointment of supermodel Adriana Lima as its global fan ambassador in a Women’s World Cup year is “baffling” and sends the wrong message to players and fans, former Fifa council member Moya Dodd said.

The 41-year-old Brazilian will “develop, promote and participate in several global initiatives” in her role as Fifa’s first global fan ambassador, the governing body said in a statement on Monday.

Australian Dodd, a former international who served on the committee for Australia and New Zealand’s successful bid to co-host the World Cup, said Lima’s appointment with less than five months to go was “tone deaf”.

“At the outset, the model’s public image looked an odd fit for an organisation that says it wants to empower girls and women,” the 58-year-old, one of the first women to serve on Fifa’s decision-making body, wrote in a post on LinkedIn on Wednesday.

“I asked whether the Fifa ambassador will be delivering messages on body image, well-being and healthy eating.”

Dodd, a member of the Fifa council from 2013 to 2016, also referred to remarks Lima made in a 2006 interview with the magazine GQ in which she said abortion was “a crime”.

Fifa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lima’s publicist, Laurent Boye, said the model’s stance had changed in the 17 years since she made those comments.

“We can proudly say that Ms Lima has been promoting a healthy lifestyle for several years and like many people, her position on many LGBTQIA+ and women’s issues has evolved and she is considered an ally,” he said in a statement.

Dodd, a prominent women’s football advocate, represented Australia 24 times from 1986 to 1995 and played in Fifa’s women’s invitational event, three years before the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991.

“When a girl plays football, the world sees her differently,” she said. “Instead of being complimented on her nice looks or her pretty dress, she is valued for her game-saving tackles and brilliant goalscoring.

“She’s admired for what she can do, rather than how she looks, putting her on a more equal footing with her brothers in a way that can alter the whole trajectory of her life’s ambitions.

“In a Fifa World Cup year, that’s the message that should be ringing loud and true around the world. Where a supermodel fits into this is truly baffling.”

Dodd recently criticised Fifa for a lack of understanding of the women’s game amid reports that Saudi Arabia’s tourism authority would sponsor the July 20-Aug 20 World Cup. REUTERS

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