Football Belongs to Everyone: How Cacahuètes Sluts Are Changing the Game in Paris

The World Cup can bring out the best of people, but also the worst, which is what Fatima Rouina has seen firsthand as a Queer, Franco-Algerian football fan living in Paris.

Cacahuètes Sluts are a Paris-based football team that organizes training sessions, matches and tournaments, alongside events that build connections between different cultural scenes. Fatima founded the team to "expand who gets to tell the story of football in Paris," by centering the experiences of women and queer people, as for a long time, the city's football culture in the city was largely shaped and narrated by men.

We spoke to Fatima about the role of football as a tool for social change and the role grassroots football clubs in Paris can play.

"Too often, football loves the culture but not the people creating it."

You created Cacahuètes Sluts to make a more representative space in football play. How do you think grassroots football clubs like yours define local football culture in Paris?

What I love about the term “grassroots football” is the word roots itself. For me, that’s where football culture truly lives. It’s real, authentic and deeply connected to the people and places around it. Grassroots football absorbs the stories, identities and creativity of a city, which is why it often reflects its culture in the most honest way.

You have said you want to see greater equality on and off the field, with more initiatives by people of colour and queer people. What do you think needs to happen in Paris to get more space for such communities?

Paris is already full of community-led initiatives promoting anti-racist, anti-homophobic and anti-fascist values. Too often, football loves the culture but not the people creating it. Subcultures are celebrated, but decision-making often remains in the same hands. If we want more space for underrepresented communities in football, we need to give them not only visibility, but also the power to create, programme, organise and occupy key positions where decisions are made.

Football can bring out the worst in people and societies, but do you think the sport can also be part of a wider positive change, and if so, how?

I believe that positive change doesn't come from football itself, it comes from what people choose to build around it. That's what made me fall in love: when football becomes a space for connection, culture and community, it can be the most powerful tool for social change.

"Positive change doesn't come from football itself, it comes from what people choose to build around it."

You’ve said Zidane is one of your favourite players, a fellow Franco-Algerian! Do you think France needs to better celebrate the world-class football talent of its diaspora and if so, how?

We celebrate the performances of players like Zidane, Benzema, Dembélé, Mbappé or Doué, but we're often less comfortable celebrating the identities, cultures and histories that have shaped them.

You can see this tension in different debates around football. Whether it's discussions around Ramadan or the participation of Muslim women in sport, there are moments when certain identities are treated as a challenge to be managed rather than a richness to be embraced.

That said, I'm optimistic. I think change is already happening through younger generations, grassroots communities and people from diverse backgrounds like the Algerian boxer Imane Khelif who are increasingly shaping culture, sport and public life.