The NFL's first Black female official: Maia Chaka

Maia Chaka has made history as the first African-American female named to an NFL officiating crew. The NFL made the news official Friday morning as they announced that Chaka would be added to the roster of game officials for the 2021 regular season.

Rochester's Maia Chaka broke one of the NFL's glass ceilings this week when she was named the league's first Black woman official. She's not a household name just yet, but Chaka is majorly changing the game for women in football. Full story & interview: https://t.co/BfUMzG4k0S pic.twitter.com/ViMVyhNuZr

— Alexa Ross (@AlexaRossTV) March 6, 2021

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Maia Chaka's journey to the NFL

In terms of potential officiating opportunities, Maia Chaka has been on the radar of the NFL's officiating department for the last several years while she was an official in the college ranks. All of her officiating experience came as a game official in both the Conference USA and PAC-12 football conferences.

In 2014, Chaka was hand-picked for the NFL's Officiating Development Program (ODP). After the NFL was made aware of her talents, the league made a place for her in their officiating program. This advanced program was created by the league as a training and mentoring program to evaluate leading collegiate officiating talent.

Through this process, the league can further determine if a candidate has what it takes for real NFL game action. Should a candidate progress successfully, they are most often offered an opportunity to join an NFL officiating crew. Chaka spent six years in the development program before the NFL brought her onto the officiating crew for this upcoming season.

We welcome Maia Chaka to the 2021 roster of game officials! Maia makes history as the first Black woman to officiate at the @NFL level. https://t.co/1NHls98Lwi pic.twitter.com/ycOxc6Cq1t

— NFL Officiating (@NFLOfficiating) March 5, 2021

As this is also Women's History Month in the United States, the hiring of Maia Chaka helps the NFL continue to make strides in being a more inclusive and socially representative league. This was further stated by NFL Executive Troy Vincent, Sr., who affirmed in a statement:

"Maia’s years of hard work, dedication and perseverance – including as part of the NFL Officiating Development Program – have earned her a position as an NFL official... As we celebrate Women’s History Month, Maia is a trailblazer as the first Black female official and inspires us toward normalizing women on the football field.”

The NFL has already made long-awaited women's history just this past season by hiring Sarah Thomas, the first female official in NFL history.