FIFA has sanctioned the establishment of an Afghanistan women’s refugee team which will be able to participate in matches overseen by world football’s governing body.
Such a move would see the creation of an officially-recognised team of evacuated female players of Afghan nationality who obtained refugee-status abroad.
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FIFA says the refugee team would be initially on a one-year pilot phase, which it adds will help evaluation over its long-term viability and which could create the possibility other nationalities attaining similar status.
The establishment of a team must first be approved by the FIFA Council, which would allow them to participate in both recognised friendly matches and tournaments overseen by FIFA, which says it will provide an environment which would prioritise player safety and well-being.
It has been hailed as a “landmark” moment by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who said: “FIFA is committed to giving every girl the possibility to play football.”
The regulations of FIFA require recognition by a national federation for teams to compete, but the Taliban-controlled Afghan Football Federation (AFF) does not acknowledge its women’s teams with all women’s sports banned across the nation.
Afghanistan’s women’s side have not played an official match since 2018 and no longer features in FIFA’s 196-team women’s world rankings.
Most recently, that has meant Afghanistan were from this year’s 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers draw, which feeds into the qualification process for the Women’s World Cup in Brazil the following year.
That led to players and others making fresh calls for FIFA to recognise the team and allow them to represent their homeland.
The Athletic spoke to several of the displaced Afghan women’s players, who spoke of their experiences and hopes of regaining official recognition by FIFA.
In August 2021, the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan led to the repression of women’s rights in the country, restricting basic freedoms and banning teenage girls from education. The United Nations said such treatment could amount to “gender apartheid”.
More than 75 people associated with the nation’s women’s senior football team — including players, officials and their families — escaped to Australia, assisted by FIFPro, football’s global players’ union. Others fled to countries in Europe, including the United Kingdom.
FIFA says it supported the evacuation of around 160 people in total from Afghanistan in October 2021, around 70 per cent of whom were women and children, including female players.
(WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images)
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