(CNN) FIFA’s resolution to nominate Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima as its world fan ambassador forward of the Women’s World Cup has been derided as “tone deaf” and “actually baffling” by former Australian worldwide Moya Dodd.
Soccer’s world governing physique introduced Monday that Lima, a former Victoria’s Secret mannequin, would “develop, promote and take part in a number of world initiatives involving followers from all around the world,” whereas FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated the 41-year-old Brazilian “lives and breathes ‘futebol.'”
Dodd, the previous vice-captain of Australia’s ladies’s soccer group, stated on Wednesday that Lima’s public picture “regarded an odd match for an organisation that claims it desires to empower women and girls, and whose President is required to be “a vanguard” for selling gender equality (sure, that is within the FIFA Governance Regulations).”
Dodd, who beforehand led Fifa’s taskforce on ladies’s soccer, wrote on Linkedin: “[W]hen a woman performs soccer, the world sees her in another way. Instead of being complimented on her good appears or her fairly costume, she is valued for her game-saving tackles and sensible goal-scoring.
“She’s admired for what she will be able to DO, moderately than how she appears, placing her on a extra equal footing together with her brothers in a method that may alter the entire trajectory of her life’s ambitions.
Dodd stated that when a woman performs soccer, “she’s admired for what she will be able to DO, moderately than how she appears”.
A member of the FIFA’s government committee from 2013 to 2016, Dodd expanded on her feedback, including that her personal analysis on Lima “confirmed that this mannequin particularly was recognized for crash-diet consuming & ingesting,” and referenced a 2006 GQ article, the place the Brazilian is quoted as saying abortion is against the law.
“What will this ambassador characterize to the massive and rising inhabitants of aspirational #womensfootball gamers and followers who love the sport as a result of it reveals us what empowerment and equality can appear like?” requested Dodd.
Lima’s publicist, Laurent Boye, stated the mannequin’s stance had modified since she made these feedback 17 years in the past.
“We can proudly say that Ms Lima has been selling a wholesome life-style for a number of years and like many individuals, her place on many LGBTQIA+ and ladies points has developed and he or she is taken into account an ally,” Boye stated in an announcement, Reuters information company reported.
In a follow-up submit, Dodd stated that Lima’s view’s on abortion nonetheless hadn’t been addressed.
“To be clear, there is no such thing as a criticism of Lima’s private alternative – everybody ought to have that proper. But denouncing abortion as against the law signifies that you assume others who make a distinct alternative must be handled as criminals and punished accordingly.
“That is a terrifying prospect, and never in line with ladies’s empowerment or proper to manage their very own our bodies and futures, imho,” Dodd wrote.
CNN has reached out to FIFA for additional remark.
In an announcement Monday, Lima stated she was ” very grateful and honoured to have been chosen by FIFA to be the primary Global Fan Ambassador and to be given such a platform to assist followers get even nearer to the sport.”
Ouarda Coussay, a consultant for mannequin administration company Elite World Group, which represents Lima, declined additional remark when contacted by CNN.
The 2023 Women’s World Cup runs from July 20 to August 20 in Australia and New Zealand.
CNN’s Sammy Mngqosini contributed reporting.
