Salma Akter Moni will soon become the first female referee from Bangladesh to oversee international games outside of South Asia, continuing her legacy of making history.
The 32nd SEA Games women’s football events, which will be played in Cambodia from May 3 to May 15, will include Vietnam, Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, and Laos. The 25-year-old has been invited to serve as the match referee.
Salma told The Daily Star on the eve of her departure on Sunday, “I’m thrilled to have received such an opportunity.”
Salma previously made headlines after becoming a FIFA assistant referee in 2021 and then becoming the first female assistant referee to work a top-tier domestic match in the men’s circuit — between Uttar Baridhara Club and Arambagh KS in the Bangladesh Premier League — in the same year.
She teaches physical education at an English-medium school and also conducts football matches. She has already traveled to Nepal, Bhutan, and Nepal to organize matches for various age-group championships.
She said, “I had the chance to organize games for the AFC U-14 Women’s Festival in Tajikistan, but I was unable to go there in 2016 owing to my HSC (Higher Secondary Certificate) exams. However, this time I don’t want to blow the chance to host matches outside the SAFF region.
In June of last year, Salma refereed two FIFA friendlies between Malaysia and Bangladesh in Dhaka before officiating SAFF Women’s Championship games in Nepal a few months later.
Salma said, “I don’t know if other female referees would be inspired by my achievement but I think it is a beginning for me and I want to perform at my level best, so that I can get further assignments.” Salma also thinks that a better salary from the Asian Football Council (AFC) will help her become financially stable.
She was admitted to the AFC Elite Referees’ panel in February 2023, making her the first female assistant referee. In response, Salma stated, “At this time, I’m not considering blowing the whistle in the international match; rather, I want to focus on my role as an AFC Elite Assistant referee.
In reality, I don’t have any intentions for this. I want to perform better as an assistant referee at the international level, she added.