"You don’t often see many people wearing a headscarf while playing or umpiring sports in Australia. "I love AFL because it’s Australia’s game and I guess I’m a role model because there’s not many people who look like me in the sport." Acknowledging the issue of racism in Australian sports and the recent Adam Goodes documentary about the sad end to his career with the Sydney Swans, the Balga schoolgirl said she had never experienced racial abuse but wanted to stand up against it and help stamp it out. Following in the footsteps of Soreti Jibrael, the first schoolgirl to umpire a footy match on an AFL ground wearing a hijab, Fama said she also wanted to help pave the way for other young girls who look like them to follow their dreams. "I aim to compete at the highest level of AFL very soon and inspire other young people to do the same," she said.

Fama stands tall with pride representing her religion and culture as she umpires the Australian game. Credit:Lauren Pilat "I am achieving my fitness goals and being involved in the AFL is a much better option compared to what other young people my age do, such as playing video games. "My ultimate goal is to play at AFLW level, I’m currently training to play and umpire AFL." Fama was born in a refugee camp in the West African country of Guinea after her family escaped civil war in the Ivory Coast before moving to Perth when she was three years old. The West Coast Eagles fan, whose favourite players are Josh Kennedy and Nic Naitanui, began playing footy two years ago after a chance encounter with the Edmund Rice Lions team during their training session at a Balga oval.

Fama became a Lion and enrolled in the Edmund Rice Centre WA Multicultural AFL Umpiring Academy, designed to introduce Australia’s game to young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The aspiring AFL umpire said her first experience of playing the game was scary but her love for it outweighed any fear and pushed her to become a line and boundary umpire for students as old as 17 and a field umpire for players 12 and under. Fama now trains with the West Perth District Umpires and has umpired about 15 games at PSA level including Little League WA and Auskick matches at Optus Stadium, saying the only difficult part was telling people older than her what to do without them arguing back. ERCWA youth pathways coordinator Daniel Sherifi said despite being young, Fama handled the pressure well and was always positive and enthusiastic. "Fama takes a lot of pride in what she does and who she is," he said.

"Nothing is a barrier for her and she is a great role model to young girls."