Sarai Bareman speaks during the FIFA Women's Football Convention at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles on June 06, 2019 in Paris, France. Photo / Getty Images.
Kiwi Sarai Bareman has been running women's football from FIFA headquarters in Zurich for the last five years. She talks to Michael Burgess about the realities of having one of the most important jobs in the game .
Every time Sarai Bareman goes to work, she has to undergo a Covid test.
The results are assessed within 15 minutes, then Bareman is able to enter the building.
That might sound extreme, but it's one of the realities of working at the home of FIFA, the governing body of the world's biggest sport.
And Bareman is far from an everyday employee. The Kiwi, who grew up in Massey and gained her first job as a Ponsonby bank teller, heads up FIFA's women's football division, responsible for 211 member nations.
The mandatory tests are one of several measures adopted by FIFA inside its Zurich headquarters, where face masks are compulsory.
Life is edging back to normal in Switzerland, but working from home is still encouraged, something Bareman does twice a week.
But she has missed the office environment, along with the informal catch ups.
"What I miss is when you run into someone in the corridor or at the coffee machine," Bareman tells the Weekend Herald. "Those discussions, where you can wean a lot of information. It's a huge organisation and you see people from other departments, other divisions."
"It's those little conversations where I often get the little hooks in - 'Are you thinking about doing this for women's football as well? We should definitely be involved in these discussions'."
There has been considerable progress at FIFA since she started there in October 2016, but still some way to go.
Bareman has an ever expanding team – 10 in Zurich and 25 dotted around the world - but they can't cover everything.
"[There is] definitely a better level of accountability for women's football but there certainly is some benefit in reminding people and giving them a gentle nudge."
"Ultimately, we are trying to drive accountability across the whole organisation; it shouldn't really matter what department or division you are working in, everyone is equally responsible for the women's game as they are the men's game, so gentle reminders are still helpful."
This approach - getting the 'little hooks' in, a nudge or polite persuasion has typified Bareman's stratospheric rise. Bareman was seconded onto FIFA's reforms committee from the Oceania Football Confederation in 2015, the only women among the 22-strong group, but she wasn't going to shrink into the shadows.
Bareman advocated strongly that women's football needed to be a priority and impressed FIFA president Gianni Infantino so much she was asked to lead the evolution.
"Looking back, it gives me a sense of pride," says Bareman. "Coming to this place from little ol' NZ and basically developing from scratch a global strategy for growing the women's game across 211 countries."
"The slightly naive, wide eyed young woman that entered the FIFA office on that first day is now a completely different person, for sure.
"I feel massively privileged to be in this position, where I can make this impact. It's still not lost on me, despite having been here four and a half years, I still have moments where I am pinching myself."
"I have to constantly remind myself of where I come from, which keeps me grounded. Ultimately, who I am here to serve, are people like those young girls back home in the Islands."
Her initial few months were a "baptism of fire". She had football administration experience – from her OFC stint – but it was a massive leap.
"Going from the Pacific, with eleven countries, to understanding the landscape of 211 countries, with vastly different levels with women's football," says Bareman.
The early days could be manic, as far flung football associations didn't always respect the time differences.
"I've got a very efficient Swiss PA now, who completely controls my calendar," laughs Bareman.
"There are a few early mornings, a few late nights but certainly not the two, three, four in the morning stuff that was happening in the beginning."
Though Bareman is overseeing a myriad of projects, the next Women's World Cup is never far from top of mind.
The 2019 tournament was a blockbuster – setting attendance, television audience and fan engagement records – but the 2023 event will be even bigger. There's an expanded format – from 24 to 32 teams – and joint hosting, with games spread from Perth to Dunedin.
"More teams is really exciting but it means more venues, logistics, base camps…increasing everything," says Bareman.
There's already been one important win, around the dates, after the 2019 tournament clashed with the Copa America and Gold Cup, drawing extensive criticism.
"[For 2023] we worked hard to make sure it was standalone and there were no other big events happening at the same time," says Bareman.
A less controllable challenge is the weather during the winter tournament, as most major FIFA tournaments are held in spring or summer.
"I grew up in New Zealand and I know what's it's like to be wrapped up in a puffy jacket and a scarf, on the sideline," says Bareman. "[But] that will be quite new for many international fans."
"We need to leverage the tourism side of New Zealand during winter, because it will be different from the big summer festival we saw in France."
The biggest issue remains the ongoing implications of Covid-19, though Bareman trusts the global vaccine rollout will be the "saving grace."
"I hope by 2023 a majority of the world will be vaccinated and based on what we are seeing so far that is where our hope lies," says Bareman, with cautious optimism.
In the wake of the 2019 World Cup, Infantino pledged a US$1 billion investment in the women's game. The Covid-19 pandemic has delayed implementation of that but Bareman says it will have a significant impact.
"Not only for the funding, but also for the message it sends," explains Bareman. "A lot of people still, unfortunately, see women's football as a cost exercise, something they have to do out of obligation.
"We are trying to demonstrate that it is an investment. It is the biggest growth opportunity in football, in terms of participation, in terms of commercial revenues, and we need to invest in it and nurture it, in the same way that the men's game has been invested in and nurtured for more than a century now."
Bareman is encouraged by recent progress - with the rise of many European leagues as an example – but says sustainable long term change can only come by addressing "the entire eco system", from grassroots to governance and everything in between.
Many professional teams remain heavily reliant on men's football, with the women's team a component of a larger club.
"That's not something we should fight, that's fine, but we need to work on making women's football self-sustaining," says Bareman. "[There] needs to be a point in the future where women's football can generate its own revenues."
Closer to home, Bareman retains Pacific dreams, after six years working with the Samoan Football Association.
She has recently commissioned a pilot project to help Oceania nations develop best practice for preparing players for international tournaments.
The carrot of course, is a spot at the next World Cup, with the top Oceania nation gaining entry to a playoff tournament in February 2023, where 10 teams will battle for the last three World Cup spots.
"Just the fact we have an opportunity for playoffs…imagine if one of the Islands actually qualify for a World Cup?"
Regardless of the ultimate outcome, Bareman is hopeful of a significant legacy for all Oceania countries.
'We have this mega sporting event hosted in our region, every country needs to leverage from it," says Bareman.
Over the last year Bareman has achieved a better work/life balance, but there is still never enough time. Twelve hour days are standard, with her "best work" done after 6pm, when the influx of emails slow down.
There are touches of home dotted around her Zurich apartment, with some native New Zealand bird prints the latest addition – while "care packages" from her family, with Marmite and other goodies arrive every few months.
"I realise that I am in a very privileged position," says Bareman. "I also realise that this opportunity won't last forever. So it is important that while I am here, I'm able to make as big as impact as I can. It's a huge privilege and I don't want to waste one second of it."
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