JJ Roble
An overview
Jawahir Roble MBE (born 1995), also known as Jawahir Jewels or JJ, is a Somali-born British football referee.
The Daily Telegraph has called her “the most remarkable referee in England”. She herself has said, “Who would ever think a black, Somali-born immigrant girl with eight siblings could ref a men’s game in England with a hijab on?”
JJ Roble
In 2014, aged 19, she became more serious about how to encourage Muslim girls to play football. In 2013, she obtained a £300 grant, and managed to involve Ciara Allan, her local Middlesex county FA women and girls football development officer.
In September 2013, Allen launched the Middlesex FA Women’s League with a new Desi division for girls. In return for refereeing games every week, Middlesex FA funded Roble’s formal referee training.
In 2017, she was one of eleven award winners at the Respect Awards, and collected the Match Official prize. Roble’s award was in recognition of her volunteering work for the education charity Football Beyond Borders (FBB) and with the Middlesex FA, coaching FBB’s first women’s team, as well as for achieving a Level Six refereeing qualification.
She is an FA Youth Leader. She has said, “Of course they’re surprised to see a Muslim girl refereeing! I’m kind of short as well so they’re like ‘okay, what is this child doing here’ “
