FIFA have stoked further controversy by appointing supermodel Adriana Lima as their first global fan ambassador five months before the Women's World Cup.
The move has been labelled "tone deaf" according to Moya Dodd, former FIFA council member and Australia vice-captain. Women Sport Australia, meanwhile, said the appointment was "unnecessary."
But FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Lima "lives and breathes 'futebol'". Lima, who has had no prior involvement in the sport in a professional capacity, is a former Victoria’s Secret model, who Infantino also described as an “excellent link” between the sporting body and fans worldwide.
But Dodd, a lawyer and former member of FIFA's executive committee who played for the Socceroos in the first ever women's World Cup, questioned the message it sent to female athletes across the globe. She tweeted: "Seriously, #FIFA, is this the fan engagement ambassador we need as the @FIFAWWC (Women's World Cup) approaches? #tonedeaf"
"When a girl plays football, the world sees her differently," Dodd added. "Instead of being complimented on her nice looks or her pretty dress, she is valued for her game-saving tackles and brilliant goal-scoring.
"She's admired for what she can do, rather than how she looks, putting her on a more equal footing with her brothers in a way that can alter the whole trajectory of her life's ambitions.
"In a FIFA World Cup year, that's the message that should be ringing loud and true around the world. Where a supermodel fits into this is truly baffling."
FIFA has already been heavily criticised by hosts Australia and New Zealand over a potential sponsorship of the tournament by Saudi Arabia, due to concerns on women’s rights in the country. In a further tweet Dodd referred to previous comments made by Lima in a 2006 interview where she stated abortion was "a crime."
Women Sport Australia questioned why top women's players weren't used as ambassadors, rather than supermodels.
"It’s definitely a different approach to the men’s game,” Women Sport Australia president, Gen Dohrmann told The Guardian.
"You would see Cristiano Ronaldo as the poster boy of the men’s World Cup, so why do we need a supermodel when we could choose Meg Rapinoe, or Sam Kerr, or someone who has international accolades in the sport we are actually promoting?
"That is the type of role model that should be at the front of this campaign."
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