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FIFA has unveiled significant governance reforms that open the door for members of Afghanistan’s women’s national team to compete internationally under their nation’s banner.
Since the Taliban’s resurgence in 2021, Afghanistan’s women’s national team has been absent from official international competitions.
The Taliban regime has enforced extensive restrictions on women and girls, impacting education, employment, and sports, which has led many female athletes to either leave Afghanistan or cease their sporting pursuits altogether.
Amidst these challenges, several Afghan national team members have found refuge in Melbourne.
Mursal Sadat, a co-founder of Afghanistan United and a player on the Afghan women’s team, has tirelessly advocated for this breakthrough for nearly five years. She emphasized that her efforts extend far beyond the sport itself.
“Obviously, in Afghanistan, women cannot study, let alone play sports. It was about more than just playing; it was about representation, about being the voice of the voiceless,” Sadat told SBS News.
The players mounted a challenge to play in the 2023 Women’s World Cup and again in the Asian Cup, but both bids failed.
The timing of FIFA’s reforms, though welcome, are somewhat awkward — the team will also miss out on the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil. However, there is still time to compete for qualification at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“Some of the challenges, when we saw the women’s World Cup in Australia, and we weren’t allowed to compete, I personally cried a lot. Having a tour of the locker room and being there was very painful,” Sadat said.
In 2025, FIFA launched the Afghan Women’s Refugee Team, made up of diaspora members of the former Afghan national team.
Sadat said the moment was amazing.
“It was a milestone, it was a highlight of the journey,” she said.
“We believed that this is just the beginning, and it will happen. People always say FIFA is home to all football players around the world, how can the doors be closed to one member of the family?”
For Sadat and her team, their focus was on getting back into the game, playing official games and ranking once again.
“I’ll let the future decide, and I’m hoping to see a better outcome for women,” she said.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the organisation aimed to enable the Afgan players, as well as other FIFA member associations unable to register a national or representative team, to make the next step.
“We are proud of the beautiful journey initiated by Afghan Women United,” he said in a statement.
Sadat said the moment was more than just a win for her team, but justice in the face of the Taliban regime.
“And it’s not just so significant, it’s a slap in the face to the regime, who make women suffer because of their own ideology, and shows them that you cannot restrict women from doing what they love, from playing the sport that they love.
“But it takes resistance, it takes resilience, it takes courage, and I think we can take this journey and this historic moment to show the next generation that nothing is impossible.”
The selection phase for the next Afghan Women United team is underway, with regional selection camps in England and Australia.
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