FIFA 23 update includes Moroccan player wearing her hijab

During this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, the 25-year-old Moroccan football player Nouhaila Benzina made history by becoming the first woman to wear a hijab while playing a World Cup match. Now, FIFA23 is honouring her.

The Moroccan footballer Nouhaila Benzina has been an important figure in the movement for inclusivity and representation in sport, particularly for Muslim women.

So it’s only right that she became the one to make history by being the first footballer to wear her hijab during a World Cup match between her home country and South Korea in the 2023 women’s tournament.

Now, FIFA 23 is honouring her in the release of its new update (Title Update 16), which includes Benzina’s player model wearing her Islamic headscarf. This move is just one of many recent and significant steps towards improving equality and inclusivity in football — in both its digital and real-world forms.

Despite FIFA being released in the early 90s, it only started including women’s international teams in the year 2016. Still, it made history by becoming the first game to do so.