DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 10 -- For decades, the world of football has been largely defined by men sitting at the most powerful decision-making tables, shaping the direction of federations, competitions, infrastructure and investments.

But slowly, that picture has begun to change and few African women embody that transformation more powerfully than Fatma Samoura, the Senegalese diplomat and former Secretary General of FIFA who broke one of footballs most visible barriers when she became the first woman and the first African to hold the organizations top administrative position.

Her journey was significant not simply because of the title she carried, but because of what her presence represented that African women could occupy influential posi...