Afghan women return to the international stage in the FIFA tournament

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

Women’s sports have been banned in Afghanistan since the Taliban government took power in 2021, forcing players to flee the country for fear of persecution.

Before the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan had 25 female 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 football’s governing body approved the creation of an Afghanistan women’s refugee team, with Pauline Hamill as coach.

The team chose ‘Afghan Women United’ as its official name after consultation with FIFA ahead of the loss to Chad, the 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 really deserve as women. Our right to play and represent our country,» captain Fatima Haidari said ahead of the match.

“We are extremely grateful that FIFA has given us this opportunity and privilege to represent what women are capable of.”

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

But Chad, who played his first match in 2019 and was in the qualification for the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games, quickly recovered to take the comfortable victory in Berrechid, 40km from Casablanca.

Afghan Women United’s next match is against Tunisia on Wednesday before playing Libya on Saturday.

The tournament was supposed to take place in the United Arab Emirates, but was moved to Morocco last week.

Published on October 27, 2025