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1h ago

FIFA Names 23-Player Afghan Women’s Refugee Squad for Dubai Friendlies

FIFA’s pilot effort offers displaced athletes visibility without resolving recognition or governance.

Afghan women soccer players hold hands before a training session.
Afghan women's soccer players in exile hold hands on a training pitch in Doncaster, England with former coach and mentor Khalida Popal.
Narges Mayeli sits in her bedroom with an Afghan jersey gifted to her by former coach Khalida Popal.
Khalida Popal, former captain of the Afghan women’s team, fled Afghanistan in 2011 after speaking out against corruption and abuse of power within the country’s soccer federation.

Overview

  • The squad draws from exiled players across several countries after identification camps in Sydney and England, with 13 members based in Australia.
  • FIFA is funding and overseeing the project in a pilot phase with more than 20 staff involved, and it has not detailed plans beyond the Dubai tournament.
  • Because FIFA still recognizes the Afghan Football Federation, which bans women’s sports, the team is limited to friendlies and cannot enter official qualifiers.
  • Players and advocates, including former captain Khalida Popal, are urging an independent governing body and national-team status and many reject the 'refugee' label.
  • Head coach Pauline Hamill, appointed in July, will lead a training camp before matches against Chad, Libya and the United Arab Emirates in Dubai later this month.