« You register with people in charge of sports in your sector, who then send it to the FA, who can then approve it.

« When I got that information, I was excited. I said, ’What I’ve been thinking about since childhood could now be a reality - so let me try’. Now, here I am. »

Ignore conventional wisdom

On her road to refereeing at not only the men’s and women’s World Cup tournaments but the Olympics too, the obstacles facing Mukansanga were legion.

Among the biggest were traditional attitudes regarding her sex and religion, and the views many held at the time suggesting a woman like her should not be pursuing such a calling.

« I was born a Muslim, so for my family to see a girl wearing a shirt and playing football, they were like : ’Oh my goodness, what is this ?’

« People didn’t understand. Then people tended to let boys do what they wanted in sport, yet they doubted us girls.

« If you really want to reach your dream, forget what you’ve been told - fight, and then you can reach wherever you want to reach. »

Mukansanga became the first woman to referee a men’s Africa Cup of Nations match in 2021 when taking charge of Zimbabwe v Guinea in Cameroon

Persevere

As she started taking tentative steps, Mukansanga continued to meet what she describes as a « grass ceiling » because of her gender.

She did eventually officiate in Rwanda’s top league, but only after continually ignoring the doubters.

« People used to say, ’we’ll give you a chance in the men’s second division, but to go in the first division is tough as teams will not accept a woman referee’. Then people also talked about speed and fitness, saying we would not make it.

« This is what people thought - so it was up to me to fight until being appointed to the Premier League. »

Have passion for your role

Mukansanga believes she would have achieved none of her historic feats had she not loved football.

« If you really want to reach your dream, forget what you’ve been told - fight, and then you can reach wherever you want to reach. »

Mukansanga became the first woman to referee a men’s Africa Cup of Nations match in 2021 when taking charge of Zimbabwe v Guinea in Cameroon

Persevere

As she started taking tentative steps, Mukansanga continued to meet what she describes as a « grass ceiling » because of her gender.

She did eventually officiate in Rwanda’s top league, but only after continually ignoring the doubters.

« People used to say, ’we’ll give you a chance in the men’s second division, but to go in the first division is tough as teams will not accept a woman referee’. Then people also talked about speed and fitness, saying we would not make it.

« This is what people thought - so it was up to me to fight until being appointed to the Premier League. »

Have passion for your role

Mukansanga believes she would have achieved none of her historic feats had she not loved football.

« I have people who have been to competitions of the highest level who are really motivating me. They’re the people who keep pushing me [to think] that everything is possible.

« This gives me the strength and power to think about taking part in a big competition. »

Think carefully

Mukansanga has a bachelor’s degree in nursing and midwifery from a Rwandan university but she has rarely used her skills in a professional capacity. Refereeing has been her own personal tonic, yet she only chose the whistle over a stethoscope after considerable thought.

When asked about her strongest refereeing memories, last year’s World Cup in Qatar comes first - closely followed by a trawl much further back to where her journey really began.

« Something else that keeps coming in my memory is the moment I decided to be a referee - despite people telling me, ’you’re going to be wasting your time’. When I took the decision, I spent three days alone thinking about whether to be a nurse or a referee.

« I didn’t make a mistake choosing to be a referee. The world is looking at me now - and the world will never forget my name. »