Afghan women’s team reunites 8,000 miles from home


After a FIFA ruling lifts bans, Afghan women footballers gather in Auckland for the first time since the Taliban crackdown.


For years the Taliban’s regime had outlawed women from playing or even travelling to the field. In April FIFA announced that the Afghan Women United team—built from players living as refugees abroad—could now represent Afghanistan in official matches. The 23‑player squad travelled to New Zealand for a training camp and a pair of friendly games against the Cook Islands.


In a packed changing room the players stretched, tightened boots and sang their national anthem while an Afghan flag fluttered above. Midfielder Fatima Haidari addressed the squad, urging them to be “strong as always” and to represent the country with pride.


The triumph of this reunion runs far beyond the pitch. As Manozh Noori, now based in Australia, recalls, “Football helped my mum and sister leave Afghanistan.” Her medals, which she buried in her garden in 2021, still lie there, waiting to be dug up when she returns.


Other members of the team, such as Mursal Sadat and Najma Arefi, describe how playing even in the harshest conditions abroad—tailwinds of Auckland rain, a 45°C heat back home—kept their hopes alive.


Despite the team’s 1‑0 and 3‑0 losses, the matches are a milestone: proof that Afghan women, exiled from their homeland, refuse to disappear. Their courage may one day lead to qualification for the World Cup or the Olympics.



Five Afghan women in red kits hold hands on a bench
First official gathering of Afghan Women United since the Taliban ban was lifted.


Future support from FIFA for sports in Afghanistan will hinge on the Taliban allowing women to play. Until then, “We are proud to hold FIFA’s recognition without needing the Taliban’s approval,” says player Satool. Yet domestic press urges the government to resume soccer programs.


For now the team’s story is a beacon of hope for women trapped by authoritarian rules. Their games, though small against the Cook Islands, signal an unbroken spirit and the dream that Afghanistan’s female footballers will return to the world’s biggest stages.