Afghanistan women again set to fight for future

Three years ago, a team of exiled Afghan women looked on with frustration as the Women’s World Cup took place in the Australian cities where they lived.

The displaced players have come a long way since then, but the Women’s Asian Cup, which starts in Australia on March 1, is both an inspiration and a reminder of the many hurdles they must still clear to play international matches.

“I couldn’t stop crying the entire time as it reminded me of a time that I was able to take that pride and play for my country [before the return of the Taliban in 2021],” defender Mursal Sadat told DW of her memories of the 2023 World Cup, at which point Afghanistan had no women’s national team. “Hopefully, Afghanistan will be competing by the next qualifiers.”

The dream of competing for Afghanistan at a World Cup moved a step closed last October when an Afghan women’s team branded as Afghan Women United were recognized by FIFA and played in a friendly tournament in Morocco.

‘Eager to represent Afghanistan again’ 

The team’s first major step on the path to international recognition from football’s governing body was an emotional and sporting milestone after a four-year battle to be heard. But four months later, they have yet to play another fixture.

“Morocco was a big milestone, but for us it is only the beginning,” UK-based goalkeeper Elaha Safdari told DW. “As players, we are always eager to represent Afghanistan again. Of course, we want more international matches, but we have stayed disciplined, training hard and improving as a team. We know the staff is working behind the scenes to create more opportunities so we remain ready and motivated.”

After a period of silence, FIFA announced on Monday that Afghanistan will play two unnamed opponents in the June international break, with further information to follow “in the coming months.” Those players based in Europe were involved in a training camp in Doncaster, England, earlier this month, while those based in Australia are set for something similar later in the year.

Given the team’s struggles for recognition, trauma and the development gap that has emerged after missing four years of international competition, the World Cup in Brazil next year, was always going to come too soon. March’s Asian Cup will decide which Asian teams qualify for Brazil 2027 — the semifinalists will make it automatically, while the losing quarterfinalists will go into a series of playoffs for the remaining four Asian spots.

Taliban and UAE ties ‘logical explanation’ for visa rejection

Like Afghanistan, the UAE will not be at Brazil 2027 after failing to qualify for the Asian Cup. It’s fair to say they also won’t be the Afghan team’s opponents in June either, after the Gulf state refused to allow the Afghanistan players to enter the country in October, forcing a last minute change of host country to Morocco.

FIFA has since repeatedly refused to answer any questions from DW on why the UAE, who had agreed to host and play the team, reneged on the deal. It appears more than likely that the UAE’s relationship with the Taliban was the reason for the refusal.

“That appears to be the most reasonable and logical explanation,” Alison Battisson, the Australian human rights lawyer who helped the team find asylum in Australia and maintains close contact with the players, told DW. “The UAE can turn around visas in hours for a team. If it is true that they went quiet on FIFA in that week beforehand, withdrew visas that had been granted or didn’t grant visas, that is really quite extraordinary.

“To me, it says that, without explanation, somebody much more senior and not really that concerned about women’s sport stepped in and said we have to prioritize this other interest, which I can only assume is economic interest in Afghanistan.”

FIFA doubles down on UAE relationship

DW understands this is also the suspicion of many players, but FIFA’s silence leaves the situation unclear. The organization, headed by Gianni Infantino, were less tight-lipped when they announced “the launch of a new annual world football awards event in Dubai [in the UAE]” on December 29, two months after the visa refusal.

From this year, the press release said, these awards will be the “official annual FIFA awards ceremony that gathers the world’s most influential football figures, celebrating the best players, teams, and achievements of the beautiful game for the previous year.”

Given what happened in October, it’s safe to assume the players of Afghanistan Women United would not be able to attend such a ceremony.

While Afghan players past and present do express gratitude for FIFA’s support, the explicit backing of a country that rejected a team FIFA has recognized is impossible to square with the governing body’s commitment to use “advocacy and diplomacy with relevant actors and organizations regarding long-term access to sport” for the Afghan women.

Afghan defender Sadat has, like most of her teammates, been a determined advocate for their cause. While the players have little control over geopolitics, she retains the faith that they can endure and compete in the qualifiers for the next Asian Cup in 2029.

“Re-creation and recognition of the Afghan women’s national team from exile is something that millions of Afghans want because it’s a protest against the regime of the Taliban,” Sadat said to DW. “It’s a slap from the football world to say: ‘you are trying to silence them and stop them from playing, but we are still here, and we are giving them the platform to rise, shine and use their sport as a weapon to fight against the gender apartheid and injustice.’”

Edited by: Jonathan Harding