Intisar Shanib becomes first woman to head football club in Libya

Marking “crowning achievement for all the women of Libya” in her words, Intisar Shanib has become the president of Darnes Sports Club, a prominent football club in the eastern Libyan city of Derna, after all other candidates withdrew in her favour. Mohamed Abdel-Aty, the acting president of the club’s general assembly, told the Reuters news agency on Monday that three rival candidates allowed Shanib – the MP for the city of Derna and the chairperson of the women and child affairs committee in the House of Representatives – to be installed unopposed as the sole candidate within the next two weeks. Recommended Stories list of 4 items end of list “Our endorsement of Intisar Shneib did not come out of nowhere, but rather to benefit from her strong connections that can contribute to advancing the club,” stressing that the next phase must focus on developing investments so the club can rely on its own resources, alongside paying attention to the youth sector, which Shneib has pledged to work on. Shanib told Reuters that the task “is not easy”, but it is “an honor for me and an honor for any Libyan woman that a woman holds this position”. “I want to prove that Libyan women are capable of offering something, especially to the fans of Darnes Club,” she added. …