The Afghan women’s refugee team have been granted the eligibility to play in international competitions, five years after the national team players fled their country’s Taliban rule. On Tuesday, April 28, at the FIFA Council meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, the decision was taken to amend the regulations and to recognise the refugee team.
The team has been playing under the name of Afghan Women United. However, it’s too late for the team to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, but they have a chance to participate in the qualification matches for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Following the announcement, FIFA President Gianni Infantino made a statement and cited his views on the new decision taken for the upliftment of the refugee team.
“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,” Infantino stated.
More than 80 Afghan refugee players are playing in scattered places across Australia, the United States and Europe. Two women’s camps were recently held, one each in England and Australia.
The Afghan Women United team is being coached by Pauline Hamill. The team is expected to play in the upcoming exhibition games in June against international teams. The team had played its last competitive match back in 2018.
Reportedly, the Taliban group had shut down all women’s sports, but the operations resumed in 2021. Meanwhile, all the players had fled Afghanistan due to fear of persecution.
The Afghan football federation was also under investigation for misconduct in the women’s program, with allegations of rape and physical abuse. After the news, FIFA banned federation president Keramuddin Keram for life.
While no discrimination is allowed under FIFA regulations, the Afghan federation has been given the right to participate in international football even after failing to acknowledge the women’s team.
