In her biography, Nilla Fischer, former Swedish international, discusses the demands of the highest international authority leading up to the 2011 World Cup.
FIFA compelled players from all teams to undergo genital examination during the 2011 World Cup to prove they were women, revealed former Swedish international Nilla Fischer in her recently published biography. In ‘Jag sa inte ens hälften’ (I didn’t even tell half), Fischer claimed that FIFA ordered players to undergo this type of test after rumors circulated that men were on the roster for Equatorial Guinea in Germany 2011.
“When I heard about this shocking requirement, I was seething. In the midst of a World Cup, the FIFA bigwigs want us to show our genitalia. They told us not to shave ‘down there’ for the next few days, then show it.” To the doctor. No one understands it, but we do what we’re told and wonder what is happening,” Fischer writes.
The examination was performed by a physiotherapist, while the doctor turned his back, according to the former player, who describes the experience, which was never repeated, as “unpleasant” and “humiliating”. “The way it was done was excessive. I think that’s why none of the players have said anything until now. We realized that speaking out wouldn’t work. As I write in the book, it was not at all pleasant,” she stated. Fischer, who was selected 194 times for the Swedish team between 2001 and 2022, participated in four World Cups and three Olympic Games.
The doctor for the Swedish women’s team at the time, Mats Börjesson, confirmed what happened, even though he insists that it was done before the World Cup and there was no malicious intent. “FIFA doesn’t do these things in bad faith. The sport tried to do justice to the girls, so that you don’t have to train your whole life and then end up with something that is an absolute advantage,” Börjesson told the newspaper “Aftonbladet”, referring to the possible inclusion of men masquerading as women in female teams.
