The Afghan women’s refugee team has been cleared to compete internationally, some five years after its national team players fled their country’s Taliban rule.
The FIFA council, meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, agreed Tuesday to change regulations to recognize the refugee team, which plays under the name Afghan Women United.
Although it is too late for the refugee team to qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil, it could participate in qualifying for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
“We are proud of the wonderful journey initiated by Afghan Women United, and with this initiative we want to enable them, as well as other FIFA member associations that may not be able to register a national or representative team for a FIFA competition, to take the next step, in coordination with the relevant confederation,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.
The first step towards recognition came last October, when the Afghan refugees played in a tournament with Chad, Libya and Tunisia in Morocco. That event followed years of lobbying on behalf of the team by players, former captain and activist Khalida Popal and human rights groups.
There are more than 80 Afghan refugee players spread across Australia, the United States and Europe. Recently two camps for the women were held, one in England and one in Australia.
The team, coached by Pauline Hamill, is expected to play a pair of friendlies against yet-to-be-determined opponents during the upcoming June international window.
The Afghan women’s team played its last competitive match in 2018. The Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group, shut down all women’s sports when it returned to power in 2021. The players fled Afghanistan, fearing persecution.
Even before the team’s demise, the Afghan Football Federation was under investigation for misconduct related to the women’s program, including allegations of rape and physical abuse. Keramuddin Keram, the president of the federation, was banned for life by FIFA.
Discrimination is not allowed under FIFA rules, but the Afghan federation has not been suspended from international football despite not recognizing the women’s team.
Published on April 29, 2026
