There’s no doubt that Finland takes the issue of equality seriously. To cement this fact, the top division of women's football—the National League—is offering hijabs to any player that wants one.
The country has made it a policy that various teams offer kits, shorts, and socks when children first start playing football. However, this policy has been amended to now make sports hijabs available as well.
In a statement to the press, Heidi Pihlaja, head of women’s football development from the Football Association of Finland, said with regards to the soccer uniforms being offered, “Finland is known for being a country of equal opportunities,” and that uniforms would now be “more hijabi appropriate.”
She further states, “However, we know that there is still a lot to be done as Finland is becoming an ever-more diverse society. By donating hijabs we want to show our dedication to making football accessible to everyone. For us equality is about accepting everyone as they are regardless of their religious beliefs, colour of their skin or other attributes and identities. We hope that us leading by example encourages other sports and football associations to join us in promoting equality and equity in sports.”
According to the governing body, promoting equality and diversity is something that is taken “very seriously” in football in the country. In 2020, the football association removed the word ‘women’ from the name of its highest women’s football league in a bid to challenge the “existing attitudes in sports”. In 2019, the association also announced equal pay for both men and women players who compete for the Finnish national teams.