Afghan women’s refugee team allowed to play in FIFA tournaments

An Afghanistan women’s refugee team has been granted eligibility for international competitions, some five years after national team players fled their country’s Taliban rule.

The FIFA Council, meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, agreed on Tuesday to amend its regulations to recognize the refugee team, which plays under the name Afghan Women United.

While it is too late for the refugee team to try to qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil, it could participate in qualification for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“We are proud of the beautiful journey initiated by Afghan Women United, and with this initiative we aim to enable them, as well as other FIFA member associations that may not be able to register a national or representative team for a FIFA competition, to make the next step, in coordination with the relevant confederation,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.

The first move toward recognition came last October, when the Afghan refugees played in a tournament that included Chad, Libya and Tunisia in Morocco. That event followed years of lobbying on the team’s behalf by players, former captain and activist Khalida Popal and human rights groups.

“For five years, we were told the Afghanistan women’s national team could never compete again because the men who took our country would not allow it,” Popal said in a statement. “I am extremely proud of this decision by FIFA and glad that our collective advocacy has not only changed the future for Afghan women but also ensured that no other national team has to sacrifice what our players did.”

There are more than 80 Afghan refugee players scattered across Australia, the United States and Europe. Two camps were recently held for the women, one in England and another in Australia.

The team, coached by Pauline Hamill, is expected to play a pair of exhibitions during the upcoming June international window against opponents to be determined.

“For the last few years, we have played under many names — as refugees, as Afghan Women United, and as guests of other clubs — but in our hearts, we were always the national team,” Australia-based player Nazia Ali said. “To hopefully be able to wear our flag again officially is a feeling I cannot describe.”

The Afghan women’s team played its last competitive match in 2018. The Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group, shut down all women’s sports when it returned to power in 2021. The players fled Afghanistan, fearing persecution.

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Even before the demise of the team, the Afghan soccer federation was under investigation for misconduct involving the women’s program, including allegations of rape and physical abuse. Keramuddin Keram, the federation president, was banned for life by FIFA.

Discrimination is not allowed under FIFA regulations, but the Afghan federation hasn’t been suspended from international soccer despite failing to acknowledge the women’s team.

“FIFA has finally done the right thing by closing the loophole that allowed the Taliban’s discriminatory policies to be enforced on the global stage,” said Minky Worden, director of global initiatives for Human Rights Watch. “FIFA’s action should serve as a model for how international sports bodies should respond when athletes are systemically excluded because of their gender, ethnicity or beliefs.”

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer