FIFA has taken a huge step for the recreation of the Afghan women’s football team by launching a refugee team.
They held the first of three world-wide talent identification camps in Sydney from July 23 to 29. This endeavor is to gather a 23-player squad for friendly matches later in this year.
Since the tragic and brutal take over of the government by the Taliban in 2021, many Afghan women players have escaped from the country, fearing that they would be persecuted.
The Taliban-led Afghan Football Federation, as the executive, has banned women’s sports after that and have, therefore, not allowed the national team to participate in the qualifiers for the international tournament.
FIFA greenlit the formation of an Afghan women’s refugee team in May and named former Scotland international Pauline Hamill as the head coach. “It’s great to have the players here… I think it’s an incredible project,” Hamill told FIFA. “It’s given the players the chance to perform and play together again.”FIFA will offer material, such as football equipment, mental health services, media training, and education.
President Gianni Infantino called the initiative a first that, if successful, could grow and cover displaced women athletes worldwide.
Player Nilab revealed, “This project is my help and my support… it’s the matter of all Afghanistan, especially the women and the girls.”The refugee team is just a small ray of the hope that can be seen shining in the lives of the female soccer players in Afghanistan who have been pushed aside.
