Afghan women return to international stage in FIFA tournament | The Express Tribune

LONDON:

An Afghan women’s refugee team lost 6-1 to Chad in a FIFA-organized tournament in Morocco on Sunday but for the players the match itself represented a victory after being denied the chance to play the sport they love back home.

Women’s sport has been banned in Afghanistan since the Taliban government took over in 2021, prompting players to flee the country fearing persecution.

Prior to the Taliban’s takeover, Afghanistan had 25 women players under contract, most of whom now live in Australia.

The women’s national team last played an international match in 2021, losing 5-0 to Qatar, but in May world soccer’s governing body approved the creation of an Afghan women’s refugee team, with Pauline Hamill named as coach.

The team chose “Afghan Women United” as their official name following consultations with FIFA ahead of their loss to Chad, their first match of the four-team FIFA Unites: Women’s Series tournament, which also features Tunisia and Libya.

“That’s all we wanted all these years after trying so hard to get what we truly deserve as a woman. Our right to play and to represent our country,” captain Fatima Haidari said in the lead-up to the match.

“We are profoundly grateful that FIFA gave us this opportunity and this privilege to represent what women are capable of.”

Afghan Women United opened the scoring through Melbourne-based striker Manozh Noori’s penalty on Sunday, sparking wild celebrations among her team mates and on the sidelines.

But Chad, who played their first match in 2019 and competed in qualifying for the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, recovered quickly and went on to record the comfortable win in Berrechid, 40km from Casablanca. Afghan Women United’s next game is against Tunisia on Wednesday before they take on Libya on Saturday.

The tournament was scheduled to be held in the United Arab Emirates but was moved to Morocco last week.