FIFA announces appointment of Sarai Bareman as Chief Women’s Football Officer

FIFA is pleased to announce that Sarai Bareman has been appointed as Chief Women’s Football Officer. The New Zealander will head up the newly created Women’s Football Division, reporting directly to FIFA Deputy Secretary General Zvonimir Boban, and will be part of the FIFA Management Board. She takes up her new role on 14 November.

Building on the FIFA’s commitment to further support and promote the development of women’s football as well as women in football, Sarai brings a background in financial industries and football administration to the role of Chief Women’s Football Officer. She also brings a lifelong passion for the game, having played from childhood. Encouraged by her father, a coach – she pursued her love of the game to the highest level representing the Samoan Women’s National Football Team.

Sarai worked at national association level, as the CEO of the Football Federation Samoa (FFS), where she was responsible for overhauling its financial management and carrying out strategic rebuilding. She then took up a role at confederation level, initially as Operations Manager at the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), before being promoted to the role of Deputy Secretary General. 

As the only female member of FIFA’s reform Committee, Sarai was a strong advocate for change within the organization, in particular calling for concrete requirements on women in FIFA leadership positions, which came into force following a unanimous vote at the Extraordinary FIFA Congress in February 2016.