Maria Khan: "I want to leave women’s football in Asia better than I found it"

• Pakistan international Maria Khan has joined FIFPRO Asia/Oceania as Operations Coordinator
• Khan brings 13 years of playing experience in Asia to the role while continuing her club and international career
• She discusses her motivation for joining FIFPRO Asia/Oceania and helping players understand their rights

For Maria Khan, the motivation to help improve conditions for footballers in Asia comes from personal experience.

The Pakistan international has spent the past 13 years playing in the region, most recently with Kelana United in Malaysia’s Liga Wanita. Alongside her playing career, USA-born Khan has balanced other work and seen first-hand the potential of women’s football, and the need for stronger structures to support its players.

Now joining FIFPRO Asia/Oceania as Operations Coordinator, Khan wants to use that experience to help strengthen the connection between players and their unions in the region.

She spoke to FIFPRO about representing Pakistan, her route into the division and why raising awareness of player rights matters.

FIFPRO: You have spent the past 12 years playing in Asia. What has your latest experience in Malaysia been like?

Maria Khan: I’ve been playing with Kelata United in the Liga Wanita since April. It’s been really good to experience a different culture, a different country and different team-mates.

Playing at club level also helps me prepare to go back to the Pakistan women’s national team. I want to keep competing for a place in the squad, and playing regularly is an important part of that.

What does representing Pakistan mean to you?

For me, there really is no better feeling. My situation feels a little different from that of a lot of players. Often, people retire from international football before they finish playing for their clubs. I’m still playing club football because of Pakistan: I want to compete for a place in the national team, and that means I should be playing for a club.

The reason I’m doing that is because I love representing my country.

Can you describe a moment in your playing career that made you realise players needed stronger support or representation?

There was a time when I was playing in Saudi Arabia and I was listening to the stories of some of my international team-mates. I was playing with footballers who had played multiple World Cups and Olympic competitions and had no idea what their next step after football would be. After that season, one player was left sitting at home with no support from any of her previous clubs or her federation.

That was a defining moment that made me realise we need to take a proactive approach when it comes to taking care of players – equipping them with the right skills and knowledge while they are playing to support them after they are done playing.

How has your experience as a player shaped the work you want to do?

It’s common for women footballers, and also some men in the lower divisions in Asia, to have second jobs. I’ve been navigating that for a long time. Over the past 13 years, I’ve really fallen in love with women’s football in Asia. Being here, I’ve seen the potential and the quality of the players. They need structures around them to help them fulfil that potential.

A lot of my motivation for the work I do comes from that lived experience. I want to leave women’s football in Asia better than I found it.

You’ve spoken about talented players needing better structures around them. What does that mean in practice, and what difference would those changes make?

Players need the people around them to not only care about them, but genuinely understand what athletes need to perform at their best. Environments for young girls and boys need to set up in a way that is context-aware and gives players tools to solve problems on and off the pitch.

We need to invest in players at the grassroots level with regards to education anf soft-skills, so that when they come into the professional game there is not a steep learning curve.

We also need to better prepare players for the challenges they will face at the pro level. The difference investment at a younger age makes, allows for a better transition of a player into the pro game. 
 

How did you first become involved with FIFPRO Asia/Oceania?

I’ve been in contact with Shoko Tsuji [FIFPRO Asia/Oceania Secretary General] for the past couple of years. We had already worked together informally to engage with players, including those from countries where they might be less accustomed to coming forward and speaking about issues.

It was nice to build that relationship with FIFPRO. When I saw there was an opening in the division, it felt like a natural step. It connected with what I care about and what I want to contribute to women’s football in the region.

What does your role as Operations Coordinator involve, and what have you been involved in so far?

I'm supporting Shoko in the division's objectives; I'm looking forward to meeting all our members and understanding their on-ground realities. 

I've taken part in a women’s football knowledge-exchange involving APPI, the player union in Indonesia, and PFAM, the player union in Malaysia, and I helped organise the division’s first communication workshop, where I was able to share my perspective on how unions in Asia should engage with players. 

It’s been valuable to listen and hear about the different realities players face. I’ve previously had experience working with various federations in Asia in regards to developing women’s football in their countries, so now being involved on the union side gives me both perspectives.

Why are player unions important in Asia/Oceania, and what would you like to help achieve?

From my own experience, there is still a need to explain what a union is, what it does and what rights players have. Although the division has been around for nearly 20 years, awareness of the support it and the unions can provide is still developing. For a lot of players, it remains a new idea.

I’d like to help build that understanding and strengthen players’ relationships with their unions. Education is an important starting point: helping players know their rights and understand the support available to them.