Nouhaila Benzina and Morocco blazing a path of inclusion at Women's World Cup

Sechs. That was the number of goals scored with precision by Germany on Morocco's Atlas Lionesses in their Women's World Cup debut on Monday.

Germany, ranked No. 2 in the world, is a strong contender to win the tournament and their star striker, Alexandra Popp, is on course to win the Golden Ball (for best player) and possibly the Golden Boot (as top scorer). 

I am captivated by the Moroccan team, and so were many of the more than 27,256 fans that attended the match at Melbourne's Rectangular Stadium.

Morocco (known as al Maghreb in Arabic) is the first Arab country and North African team to qualify for the Women's World Cup. Their men's team thrilled football fans and surprised supporters all over the world just six months ago at the men's tournament in Qatar, advancing all the way to the semifinals before losing to France. I stood alongside exuberant fans in Doha who cheered and celebrated irrespective of the result. A pride just swept across the entire region. 

I am cognizant of the importance of their presence at this tournament because of Nouhaila Benzina. She is the first hijab-wearing player at a senior Women's World Cup. (Jordan hosted the U17 WWC in 2016 and a few of their players wore head scarves.) Benzina became a symbol for inclusion in a sport that not too long ago did not permit hijab-wearing women to play.

I am one of the few journalists in the world with an expertise on Muslim women in sport, and uniform and hijab accommodation, having covered hijab bans by FIFA, FIBA and other international sports governing bodies for more than 10 years. I know what it took to open the doors for women who look like me and millions of others who love this sport — and I understand the impact. 

At the pre-match press